


It Takes Two

by Hanzohara



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Stuff finally happens rating up, Teasing, unusually high amounts of shakespearean references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-17 13:00:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 23,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16096190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanzohara/pseuds/Hanzohara
Summary: It probably also didn’t help that she’s been listening to the song borderline religiously for the days following that very performance, but what other people didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. How many times today? Hell, she’s probably listened to the song at least three or four times since classes let out early alone. It was a good time killer, distracting her from the way eyes would follow her in curiosity.You didn’t often see Hanasakigawa’s school uniform in this part of the city, and certainly not on a girl wearing high-reaching Converse and a hat pulled down far enough the bill kept her from making eye contact. To say nothing of the music playing loud enough it could surely be heard on the outside of her earbuds. It was only because the day prior, she had agreed to an arrangement with Kaoru after band practice, a mutual study session because frankly, English Lit was really starting to kick her ass. Really, who better to guide her through the flowery, olden bullshit that was A Midsummer Night’s Dream than Kaoru. English alone was difficult to muddy her way through, but 1500s English? Really?





	1. First

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline is a little altered for this; Romeo was released two weeks prior to the beginning of the fic, Misaki is a third year, Kaoru is a fourth year. They've been together since the beginning of the year, and the school year is past its halfway point. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also this is unbeta'd and part of it was written at 3 a.m. after a full day of classes, thanks college.

_Anata no koto shika mienaku te;  
Bokura no honki o misechatte;  
Sono na wa: Juliet_

The final lyrics sung in harmony close out and the song’s volume rises back up in the vocal absence, familiar and upbeat as most Hello Happy songs were. Even as the song altogether comes to an end, the tune seemingly growing distant and quiet as the duration bar on Misaki’s screen inches closer to the right every second, the upbeat tune still has her humming. It doesn’t really help that Misaki worked on this song for hours upon hours the week prior to their live performance, not even two weeks ago.

It probably also didn’t help that she’s been listening to the song borderline religiously for the days following that very performance, but what other people didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. How many times today? Hell, she’s probably listened to the song at least three or four times since classes let out early alone. It was a good time killer, distracting her from the way eyes would follow her in curiosity.

You didn’t often see Hanasakigawa’s school uniform in this part of the city, and certainly not on a girl wearing high-reaching Converse and a hat pulled down far enough the bill kept her from making eye contact. To say nothing of the music playing loud enough it could surely be heard on the outside of her earbuds. It was only because the day prior, she had agreed to an arrangement with Kaoru after band practice, a mutual study session because frankly, English Lit was really starting to kick her ass. Really, who better to guide her through the flowery, olden bullshit that was A Midsummer Night’s Dream than Kaoru. English alone was difficult to muddy her way through, but 1500s English? Really?

Of course, there was also the minute, added detail of a bonus that they were in a relationship and Kaoru’s very presence served as a mood lifter, and had done so since the beginning of her third year.

Small details.

Tap, Pause. Tap, Fast Rewind. Tap, Play.

Misaki leans against the stone of Haneoka’s gate, feeling a small smile on her lips despite herself as the song winds itself up for the umpteenth time that day. Though this time, the hand hand not firmly gripping her phone reaches up, tugging the right earbud from its place.

It took the better part of the weekend working tirelessly on her laptop in Audacity, FL Studios and a couple other audio software to edit the song to what it is now. Painstakingly she worked so that while the music itself was played from both sides, Kaoru’s vocals were predominantly on the left and Kokoro’s played from the right. No dig at Kokoro’s singing seeing as she was their lead vocalist, and she did perform wonderfully in the song, but Misaki would much rather pretend she’s singing the duet with her girlfriend like the begrudgingly lovestruck idiot she hesitates to admit she is than listen to her harmonize with Kokoro.

The wind up plays, and with her eyes trained on the screen the outside world seems to melt away. The song is nearing the end of its wind up, almost at peak volume…

_Romeo!_

There it was! The song broke for the second the lyric was sung, and came back with effects in the background, not unlike the sound effect of some kind of magic across a television screen in those low budget fantasy cartoons. She recalled clearly Kokoro insistently convincing her to add them in.

_Hajime mashite ojousan nishi no kuni kara;_  
_Ai no tame ni anata ni ai ni kimashita !_  
_Kyuu na hanashi desu ga douka odorokanai de;_  
_Bako no ohimesama ni ne natte kudasai ~!_

Cliche as it was, Misaki swore she could listen to Kaoru’s voice all day, especially when she was singing like this. It was damn near perfect, as most things she tried to do were, and her princely mannerisms only served to better the performance at the time. She sung in a deeper voice than when she spoke regularly, likely something to be attributed to her whole spiel about incorporating her acting into their live performances. Not that Misaki minded, because sure, Kaoru’s voice was nice to listen to on a regular basis ( when she wasn’t firing off incorrectly cited quotes left right and center ), but hearing it in a more serious light, with intend to call to mind a prince charming trying to whisk away a princess? She could swear up and down that her pulse didn’t pick up whenever Kaoru’s voice ran through those lines, and she’d be lying through her teeth.

She couldn’t focus on that too much now, not when she knows the part she’s been mouthing along to all day is coming up and she’s actually trying to sing in time with it this time.

_“ Nayanderu no? Ojousan ukanai kao wa;_  
_Niawanai yo hora hora mimi o kashite yo …_  
_Moshimo yoroshikere ba desu ga ore to issho ni_  
_Subete sutete nigeyou higashi no kuni e ! “_

Well, it’s certainly no Kokoro to go with Kaoru’s singing, but she at least was able to sing in time with the beats. Surely nothing above breathy whispers to avoid drawing any further attention to herself. Her lips remain closed during Kaoru’s immediate follow-up, though she’s humming along.

_Sabishi sou na sono akai kuchibiru ni !  
“ Yasashii mahou kakeru yo… “_

Misaki’s feels the faint creep of pink that dusts her cheeks, still wildly unused to even saying things like this. Perhaps as Michelle, when her identity is kept from people and they don’t equate the words she sings in the suit to Misaki herself, but even that is a stretch. This is why she never spoke up when it came to lyrics, and quickly moved to shutdown any attempts to get Michelle to sing.

Kaoru’s part is coming up quickly, and she looks forward to it more for the picked up pace. Misaki’s always enjoyed faster songs, the quicker tempo in the music they play, and Romeo certainly had its fair share. The trouble therein lied in her attempting to keep up during these times where she tried to sing along. She still fumbled over words, ultimately ended up keeping her mouth shut until the song slowed, simply listening to the way Kaoru sang.

Just before Kaoru’s chorus begins ( literally like milliseconds; how does one get to know a song that well from lyrics alone? ), Misaki feels arms snake around her waist, a press against her back that feels like someone certainly taller than her, and she startles so violently the earbud is yanked from her ear, and frankly it’s a goddamn miracle her phone didn’t fall from her hands. She hears and feels a sudden intake from the person behind her, hears the rush of air so near her ear, and feels the chest ( a girl’s chest, she notes ) puff up with air.

_“ Saa sa dress ni kagaete  
Sekai ichi no ohimesama, odorimashou ka ~? “_

Charming, familiar voice rings out, close enough that each words casts warm puffs of breath against Misaki’s ear. Her heart rate spiked drastically at the contact, and it’s only just now beginning to fall to something semi-normal as Kaoru’s voice, actual voice- not the one form the recording, finishes her chorus.

A hand comes up quickly to smack at one or both of the arms wound around her waist, and Misaki forces out a hiss of annoyance in spite of her embarrassed flush.

“Jesus Kaoru, you scared me to death. Let go of me!” Misaki’s voice is little above a mutter, trying not to draw further attention than Kaoru already has. She’s managed to garner no small number of odd looks from passerby adults, and more than just a few looks of jealousy from other students leaving the campus.

“Ah, but my dearest Misaki, to hear from your own lips a fleeting song fit to call down the angels and yet demand their respect and silence in reverence? And even then, to hear you sing the parts of a duet that would match mine? You simply must forgive me for I was enraptured, that I could not yet think of any better course of action than to embrace you, to join you.”

Kaoru is as unabashedly long-winded as ever, Misaki is sure with how close Kaoru is she can feel the heavy sigh all through her upper body. Her eyes roll, and when she makes an attempt to try and break free, if only to collect her dangling headphones from the ground, or to turn, Kaoru’s grip grows stronger.

“C’mon, really Kaoru. Cut it out, we really shouldn’t be doing this in public. People will think we’re some kind of weirdo PDA people…”

“Ah, but my most dearly beloved, shall I not bear my heart on my sleeve as the Great Bard once said, and make it clear to all the deepest of affections I hold for you?”

Misaki mutters something snarky under her breath and expels another heavy sigh. Really, it’s kind of embarrassing how much Kaoru goes on about this sort of thing. If it were anyone else, Misaki wouldn’t believe a word, might think it was superfluous garbage that was all for show, with no real bone behind it.

But this is Kaoru she’s talking about. Kaoru has a unique way of doing things, especially out in public like this. Kaoru who, despite being renowned for her acting, has a poor habit of mis-citing quotes in an attempt to keep her princely persona intact, fired them off like it was going out of style and she was the only one on this Earth keeping the memory. Yet with Misaki, she always put forth the extra thought, had some kind of feel of necessity to get it right, and this time she was. From what though, Misaki hadn’t even the vaguest idea. Probably something like Romeo and Juliet, or some other sappy crap like that.

( She never would have guessed a tragedy like Othello. )

Even so, touching as it was that Kaoru was willing to go so far to express her affections, Misaki has never been so boisterous. She was far from used to this sort of thing, even after being with Kaoru for a few months now, and the pressing voice in the back of her head told her was never much help. Despite herself, her heel began to tap at the ground, a quick, almost frantic pace as she raised her head, subtly peering around to see if the voice was right ( everyone is looking at how weird you’re being! )

But herein lies another reason Kaoru is a blessing deep down beneath all that whimsical prose. Being an actor, she’s surely gotten good at using and understanding body language, even the more minute of details. Kaoru keys in on her anxiousness quickly, and though Misaki can’t see it from here, a small frown finds it way to her lips, only for a second.

Gently, the arms that were secured around Misaki’s waist slid away, nothing too quick or sudden that might attract any more attention toward the clearly off-put girl. Kaoru takes a step back, giving Misaki the space she knows she needs to get her bearing and instead makes her way to Misaki’s side. Absently, she notices that Misaki’s headphones are still dangling dangerously near the pavement, and she quickly tugs the twin wires up and secures them around her neck, that they instead rest just above her chest. When all is said and done and Misaki has shaken her head clear of her misgivings, Kaoru gives her a bright smile, gently reaching for her hand. Yet she knows PDA is still a thing Misaki needs to get used to, so instead he simply curls her little finger around Misaki’s and gives it a gentle squeeze before respectfully returning it to her side.

An open offer, one she always gives so that if Misaki can initiate if she so feels comfortable.

“Come then, my dearly beloved. Let us make haste for your home before the sun dips, and we may yet get you through this homework problem of yours with time to spare!”

And then she’s off, striding in a direction that is very clearly not the short way to Misaki’s home, but she’s so dead set on her path that Misaki can’t find it in herself to correct her. Instead, she only smiles, a small and fond thing as she quickly sets off after her to match pace. It’s weird though, with how Kaoru spoke, one would think she would be trying to get to Misaki’s as quickly as possible.

She knew Kaoru knew how to get to her house from here. She’s only been over at the bare minimum two to three times a week and it’s a fairly distinctive apartment complex. It’s sort of hard to miss, and there’s a clear cut route through the city proper, down the main street usually taken to pass by Edogawa Music, past CiRCLE and across the river. Why then did she instead choose to head right, down the outlying road that would take them back by Hanasakigawa, and even further downtown?

“Taking the scenic route?” She offers up much later. It’s been thus far uneventful, a fact Misaki is thankful for. Crowds are far from the thing she wants to deal with so close to the weekend, and when they passed by Hanasakigawa the courtyards had only a few stragglers still on grounds.

Kaoru flashes her another smile, a smaller one before she makes a sweeping gesture to the buildings of the city they can see in the distance.

“I recall having read of some manner of event going on, some sort of festival in town that was sure to capture the attention of people from all around.”

That was all she explained, but Misaki understood and allowed her lips to curve into a small smile of her own. Kaoru knew she wasn’t much of a people person. Not so much afraid of crowds as she was just annoyed by needing to deal with so many people. Having to push and shove her way through crowds just to get home? Yeah, no thanks. Yet another seemingly insignificant but immensely thoughtful action on Kaoru’s part, and the thought had Misaki’s mood perk up a bit.

Taking in a breath, she shifted her hand, fingers gently moving to feel out for Kaoru’s hand. She can hear a quiet hum from Kaoru as she slides her palm up against Kaoru’s and tentatively interlocks their fingers. Kaoru in turn offers a reaffirming squeeze, shifting closer so their arms touch as they walk.

As they pass through the downtown stalls and further on toward the bridge, Misaki steals a glance up towards Kaoru’s face. There she finds a pleasant smile and when Kaoru tilts her head a meets her gaze, she can see they way her gaze fills with affection. Kaoru raises both their hands slowly, leaning her head downwards so she press her lips against one of the fingers Misaki has over the back of her hand, squeezing once more for good measure as Misaki practically yanks them back down to their sides.

A bright blush paints her cheeks, and when she uses her free hand to tug her hat down and hide it, she can hear Kaoru’s low chuckle. She positive her ears are bright red at this point, and she can only manage out a mumble.

“You sap…”

“Aha~ but dearest Misaki, they do not love that do not show it, as-”

“Yeah yeah,” She interrupts, already shaking her head and chuckling herself. “As your great bard or whatever says.”

“Quite right Why, we might make an ardent literarian out of you yet!”

Misaki scoffs at that, and shakes her head. No, not by a long shot. With how much she holds disdain for most things Shakespearean, no offense to Kaoru, the only thing ardent about the quotes will be how brightly the fire in her backyard burns when she finally graduated from the girl’s academy. Not that she would ever let Kaoru in on that, because she’d probably die if she heard that some of Shakespeare’s best was going up in flames in Misaki’s backyard. The sad part is she can’t even write it off as an exaggeration; Kaoru may very well have a heart attack.

The rest of the walk is, thankfully, uneventful. They cross the bridge in silence, shoulder to shoulder and still hand-in-hand, much to Kaoru’s pleasure. Ryuseido comes and goes relatively quickly, and Kaoru makes a remark about one of the miscellaneous objects in the window, but other than that, it’s a quiet walk.

When they get to the apartment complex, Misaki can’t help but heave a sigh in relief. The walk back wasn’t taxing, but it was much warmer out than she had expected it to be with how cool it was this morning. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to wear her usual jacket on over the school uniform as soon as classes were over for the day, and seeing as he particular building is right there, it’s hardly worth changing out of now. She can wait for the blissful feeling of changing in the AC of the building.

Resounding clink as key is slotted into place and turned, and Misaki lets out a sigh of relief as she walks in. The AC isn’t on yet, like she’s going to willingly raise the electricity bill and blast the damn thing while she’s out and nobody else is home, but it’s still cooler inside than it is out here, and she’s quick to step inside. She toes both shoes off, glancing over her shoulder as Kaoru walks in.

“Make yourself at home; Hanako is out on a multi day trip, and mom is supervising for it, so there’s no need to worry about bothering anyone.” She quickly turns and makes a beeline for her room. She quickly adds over her shoulder before disappearing into her room: “I’ll be out in a second.”

The minute the door closes, Misaki is reaching the hem of her sweater, huffing out a heavy breath. It’s roughly tugged up and over her head, momentarily getting caught on the hat she’d forgotten she was wearing. She lets out an annoyed grumble and tugs further, hat lost in the sweater as she simply drops it on the floor. Now to the more pressing matter at hand.

Misaki’s hand tugs at the white-and-navy collar of her uniform, lowering it so she can tug it off as well. Faintly, she can hear movement in the hall outside her room as she crosses to the closet to find something to change into. Probably Kaoru trying to find the bathroom, if the sound of another door closing a few moments later was anything to go off of.

And she confirms this when she exits the room, now dressed in a loose tank top and a pair of worn basketball shorts. If that’s the case, Misaki figures she has enough time to get some drinks ready before she drags her face against the veritable wall that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream for who knew how long. Coffee would be a necessity, but with how hot it was outside that itself wouldn’t work. Iced then.

She preparing the coffee machine when Kaoru returns, her own uniform loosened noticeably. That’s fair, she muses, the Haneoka uniforms seemed much heavier than Hanesakigawa’s ( they even made their girls wear sweater vests, daring to call them ‘summer uniforms’ ) Her tie is loosened and her hair is pulled back into a messier ponytail than it normally was. Smiling softly to herself, Misaki chuckled.

It was a far shot from the princely facade she put on regularly, and in a way, Misaki found this side of Kaoru far more charming. On a day to day basis, the Kaoru that was ever regal seemed almost… unreachable. This side of her was leagues and leagues easier to be around, the true Kaoru in a sense.

The one that much prefered no less than three sugar cubes and a few spoons of sugar before she went anywhere near her coffee. The one that would purse her lips as she drank grape juice far too sour for her liking, and would almost beg to wash it down with some miso soup instead. The one that, on some days like this one, almost looked as much a mess as Misaki was regularly.

There’s a fondness in Misaki’s soft gaze that doesn’t go unnoticed by Kaoru, even as her pale blues quickly shoot back to the task at hand at Kaoru’s reds seeking her out. She’s not so quick to let it drop now though, not when they are now alone, and there is nothing and nobody to draw out Misaki’s anxiety. She approaches innocently enough, small steps forward as the coffee machine chugs away in heating up the water and whatever else it did behind that plastic casing.

Her arms come around Misaki’s waist once again, and while Kaoru feels her tense up, it’s quick to subside. Unlike earlier, Misaki heaves out a sigh, almost sounding of relief or something of the sort, and leans back into Kaoru’s chest, hands still at the two empty coffee cups. Kaoru hums positively at the reaction, and her hug tightens as she leans forward to lean over Misaki’s shoulder and press a quick kiss to her cheek.

She’s positively charmed by the small giggle that Misaki gives in return, turning her head just slightly so she can glance back at Kaoru and give her a brief smile before turning again to the coffee machine. It’s begun pouring the first cup, and Misaki balances her attention with her eyes firmly on the coffee and mind on the girl behind her. And of course, the feeling on her cheek once again, planting peck after peck with soft lips.

The ice in the first coffee cup has already begun to melt, but is clearly doing it’s job as the steam begins to dissipate. It’s as she’s moving to align the second cup to the coffee machine for its second cup that Kaoru’s lips shift, instead pressing kisses against her neck. It’s not so bad, but the feeling is enough to make her shiver, straighten her back slightly in response. But when she can feel her lips part and just barely feel teeth graze against it, she suddenly startles.

Enough so that her hand jolts to the side, and the coffee stream spills onto her hand instead of the cup. God that shit is really hot.

Misaki yelps in pain and jolts backward, nearly sending the both of them to the ground as a mess of tangled legs. Kaoru’s head straightens up almost instantly and her eyes are wide in confusion and surprise as she stumbles backwards with Misaki pushing against her. She ultimately is able to maintain balance by leaning against the opposite counter, quickly releasing her hold on Misaki’s waist in favor of setting a firm grip on her shoulders.

“Ah-- Misaki!” Her senses return from their scramble, and her head clears, focuses on her girlfriend and the clear pain she’s in.

Misaki’s teeth dig into her lip as she struggles not let out hisses of pain, profanities, or whatever else that stands on the tip of her tongue. The hand not scalding at the moment is quickly pressed over it, as though the added pressure might somehow alleviate the feel of searing pins and needles across the back of her hand and wrist. She flinches on instinct as Kaoru reaches for her hand, hesitantly moving the hand she’s covering with.

Wordlessly, Kaoru guides her to the sink and sets the tap to a gentle run, testing with her own for the water to cool before bringing Misaki’s hand beneath it. Instinct makes her try to yank her hand back from it because it really stings beneath the water, but Kaoru’s got both hands on her wrist now, keeping a firm grip. Gradually, the pain recedes, and Misaki only has to take deep breaths, willing the few tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes away as Kaoru went to search the cupboards for some kind of Aloe Vera or something of the sort for good measure.

When she returns, Kaoru looks to her hand hesitantly and sets the container of gel on the counter, wringing her wrists tightly as her gaze falls down to her feet. Her feet shuffle awkwardly, and there is a firm flush of embarrassment on her face as she addresses Misaki.

“I-... I’m sorry Misaki.”

Misaki herself can only sigh in response, shaking her head. A modest amount of gel is applied to her hand, rubbed against the back of her hand and she looks up to Kaoru once again.

“You had no way of knowing how I’d react… if anything I’m sorry for nearly knocking you over.” 

Kaoru wants to reply, fervently insist that she’s the one at fault, but Misaki’s hand raises and shakes dismissively.

“We won’t get anywhere trying to take blame where there is none, you know… Let’s just uh, let’s just get to that reading, yeah?”

It’s an attempt to lighten the mood, and quick head swing in the direction of her room is enough to make Kaoru drop the subject for now. Instead she nods quietly and quickly makes her way over with Misaki quickly falling in step behind her.

They end up both on the ground after a stalemate of both telling the other the reason they should be the one to sit on her bed. There’s a notebook and several pens splayed before them, Kaoru’s own copy of the play kept neatly to her right, and Misaki’s far-less well taken care of version open to a page at random. If Kaoru were feeling less guilty about the earlier event, she may have commented on the hastily scrawled notes in the margins and haphazard state of the book, but surely she’s caused enough trouble for one day, even for her.

Instead, she quietly skims over the assignment from Misaki’s course before willing herself into a smile. It’s a simple enough assignment, clearly intended for underclassmen despite being given to a third year, and Kaoru can, from memory, recite some of the quotes briefly printed alongside questions.

It’s mostly analysis, and for that Kaoru is thankful. She’s spent the better part of her life nose buried deep into Shakespearean plays, spent hours reciting and learning the feel of the quotes for performances, and uncountable more simply reading of others’ analyses of various texts. She could probably get through the assignment in… maybe ten minutes, if she was working alone under favorable conditions. Though untrained in the art of the Great Bard, Misaki is sharp-minded and bright. It wouldn’t take more than half an hour, Kaoru figured.

She’s right on the nose. It’s getting to be the twenty minute mark when they get to the final question, and Kaoru is all too quick to express her excitement. It’s a glorified essay in the form of a short answer, an in-depth analysis of a scene from the play of the student’s choice. Kaoru is about to launch into a spiel about her particularly favorite scene when Misaki, sets the book down, gesturing to a particularly long paragraph of prose.

“This scene.”

Kaoru’s mouth falls closed immediately, and she leans over, resting her chin on Misaki’s shoulder gently to skim the lines. Her brow raises in curiosity, and she glances to the side at Misaki’s face.

“Ah, I see! Fairest Titania’s awakening at long last, to her dearest Oberon and the trickster Puck! How fleeting… pray tell my lovely Misaki, what made you decide upon this scene?”

She sees a faint blush dust Misaki’s cheeks, and she watches as her eyes quickly return to the play’s script, shifting over the text. Kaoru tilts her head, following her gaze to try and see if she can find what part it is that has her attention. When Misaki sits upright, Kaoru respectfully leans back, intending to give her space. Yet Misaki faces her proper, and leans forward on her folded knees, bringing her hands up Kaoru’s arms and wrapping arms around her shoulders. Her head tilts, and while her ears a bright red and teeth tug at her lip, she speaks in a relatively calm voice.

“Well… I guess I figured it just resonated with me… I mean, right now I’m enamour’d of an ass.” Her lips suddenly curl into a small smirk, though her eyes quickly avert from Kaoru’s face. “Y’know… as that Great Bard of yours says, or whatever.”

Kaoru is… stunned. So much so that for a moment, all she can do is stare at Misaki in bewilderment. This of course, does very little to help the intensifying blush on Misaki’s face and her hold around Kaoru’s shoulders weakens.

“Aha… that was kinda bad, huh…”

Kaoru barks out a laugh finally, and it devolves into bright giggles, head tilting forward so that her violet bangs fall over her eyes. Good thing too. The hilarity of it all is sinking in, and she swears she can feel tears of her own at her eyes. Her shoulders shake with each laugh, and her hands come up to weakly hold onto Misaki’s arms for support. She can begin to hear Misaki laugh too, a quiet, truly fleeting thing, but beautiful all the same.

It is minutes still as they sit there like idiots, laughing over Shakespeare on the ratty carpet of Misaki’s room before they wind down. Kaoru begins to gather her bearings first, and heaves a shaky breath as she tries sitting up. She watches with a smile as Misaki still laughs, having not noticed Kaoru yet with her eyes closed. She’s laughing harder now than she’s seen her laugh in a long time, and it’s such a beautiful look on her face.

Frankly, Kaoru is smitten.

Red face from embarrassment and breathlessness, Misaki’s eyes open again, and through tears she looks to Kaoru. Her laughing has died down to softer giggles, and once more down to a goofy smile. Kaoru gently leans her forehead against Misaki’s to look into her eyes as their amusement highs fall off, breathing deeply.

“Tell me, oh dearest princess of mine, this lowly ass to whom you find yourself so enamored humbly requests to grant you all the affection she has to give.”

Misaki simply rolls her eyes at Kaoru’s theatrics, leaning forward to grant Kaoru’s answer in the form of a brief peck to her lips.

That’s all the answer Kaoru needs.

There’s a fine line to be had in situations like this, between the two of them given Misaki’s struggle with things like this. Kaoru knows she’s no social butterfly, content to remain away from the eyes of others and driving most others off that get near with snarky comments and blunt responses. This sort of thing is entirely new to her, and well, it’s not as though Kaoru is familiar with this either. Sure, she’s got a veritable army of darling kittens who she’s certain would do anything for her, she’s never done anything this intimate with any of them.

Nor anyone for that matter despite what her bravado would imply. One of them needed to, as her acting coaches would often say, fake it ‘til they made it. And when she got results like this? Kaoru was very willing to weather the almost unhealthy way her heart sped up in nervousness, the way she knew would sometimes question herself if it meant seeing the side of Misaki no other person got to see. It was a clear answer: if Misaki was willing to attempt and initiate, that gave Kaoru the go-ahead.

Kaoru presses a tentative kiss to Misaki’s lips, breath rushing out through her nose as Misaki returns it. Her right hand rises up from its place at Misaki’s arm, fingers sliding against her skin, over the strap of her tank and then to the join of her neck and shoulder. There it stays, a gentle weight to keep Misaki grounded as Kaoru tilts her head just so to allow for a slightly more comfortable angle. Here, her nose no longer runs the risk of pushing against Misaki’s in their inexperience, and she remains for moments more before Misaki pulls away.

Her chest does not quite heave, but it’s clear she needs a second to steady her breathing, and Kaoru is content to simply run her fingertips along the side Misaki’s neck. Arms once linked around Kaoru’s neck slowly slide apart, resting the palms of her hands against Kaoru’s shoulders as she blinks, eyes drawn to Kaoru’s lips in expectancy.

Kaoru, of course, obliges her silent request and presses another, firmer kiss to Misaki’s lips. And this time, Misaki is quick to reciprocate with more fervor. Her fingertips press into Kaoru’s vest, curling slightly as her head tilts this time.

The part again, both evening their breathing before going in for yet another, and this time, Kaoru’s hand slips further back, mingling into the shorter mess of black hair at Misaki’s nape that hides beneath her longer layer. Misaki makes a quiet sound at this, pale blue eyes falling closed as she relaxes into their third kiss.

Kaoru stalls for a moment, unresponsive much to Misaki’s confusion. Recalling her earlier escapade, she almost is afraid to request it, but she swallows down her fear. ( she wants to be the adventurous one; almost thinking she needs to be in their relationship ). Slowly, her lips part and she faintly flicks her tongue against Misaki’s lips. They don’t go far beyond innocent kisses except here and there, what with their schedules busy. Tennis practice on Misaki’s side, Theater rehearsals on Kaoru’s, all-around school and not least of all band practice.

They’ve made out a couple times, sure, but it’s always been a shaky thing for Kaoru because it always tries to lead her to attempt more.

She’s certain they’d both enjoy it once they got a feel for it, but the problem was bridging that rather monstrous gap. To say nothing of any trouble Misaki would feel, Kaoru has a million and one thoughts about it, and few are overly positive.

She can’t afford to get distracted now though, not when Misaki has so generously allowed her. Her tongue slides forward, certainly eager but not quick enough to overwhelm Misaki. She only steps up her eagerness when she can feel Misaki reciprocate stronger, feeling her tongue nervously slide up against Kaoru’s own and draw a soft sound from her throat.

Misaki’s hand stiffen against her shoulders, flat for a moment before she slides inward toward her neck, and further back so she can ground herself with a grip in Kaoru’s hair, threading in just shy of her ponytail. Kaoru gets a bit ahead of herself in response, and her tongue flicks about Misaki’s mouth, trailing over the roof, along her row of teeth to refamiliarize herself. At one point, she returns against Misaki’s tongue, and eagerly seeks out friction against it. This draws another long winded sound from Misaki’s throat, and the hand in Kaoru’s hair tightens, unintentionally tugs against it and Kaoru groans.

Her head tilts forward, away from the grip and she can feel a pleasant tingling as her hair is pulled taut against her head. She loses herself in that feeling, and she shifts forward in the kiss, pressing herself further against Misaki’s body. The response is quick, and one of Misaki’s hands slides away from her hair, and back down against Kaoru’s shoulder, splayed out as though to try and feel as much as she can.

They’re leant back, until Kaoru holds a higher position on her, and Misaki’s back rests against the side of her bed. They part once more, and Misaki is panting now, out of breath with lips swollen and bright red. Kaoru imagines her own must be similar, and can’t help the sensation she feels at the thought. The hand threaded in Misaki’s nape untangles itself gently as she can manage, and slides back down along her body. From her shoulder, she presses in with her palm, driving her hand down along Misaki’s chest and further still until it gets to her stomach.

Misaki’s breath has grown more labored, face red and eyes hazy with something Kaoru... wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with. But she’s the one who made her like this, surely no harm would come in going further. Not waiting for a message from Misaki, Kaoru’s hand slides further, fingertips finding the hem of her tank and sliding beneath it.

The response is almost immediate, and Kaoru can feel the way Misaki’s muscles tense at her touch. The way her breath hitches in her throat and the way she’s got a thin layer of sweat along most of her body from their activities. Not unlike Kaoru, whose also gone sweaty from nerves, but surely that sudden quiver from her hand was simply an extension of Misaki’s own reaction. Kaoru tries to shake the sudden feeling of ...dread? No not quite, but she can’t place it.

It’s not unlike what it feels like to go into the first week of rehearsals, only to find that the script had been forgotten and she’d need to pray to whatever God would listen that she could remember the lines. A fear of under-preparedness, mixed in with surely an unhealthy dose of anxiety. Is this how Misaki felt out in public? If so, Kaoru wouldn’t blame her for literally going out of her way to avoid talking with people.

It hits her now as she feels her hand slide further up Misaki’s body, shirt riding up and bunching on her wrist. She really shouldn’t be trying to do this with minimal information. Kaoru knows she wants to, and she can infer that Misaki does too, otherwise she would have likely smacked away Kaoru’s hand the minute it moved south. But it’s just… she feels so worried, like she’s going to do something wrong, or already has.

They’re both still high-school students, even though upperclassmen at this point, and she’s begun to feel worried about Misaki too. Usually, Kaoru waits for Misaki to make it obvious before acting on her desires, though in the past it’s been something innocent, kisses, hugs the like. This though, is far more intimate, sensual.

She hesitantly looks up, sees a mixture of emotions on Misaki’s face too and swallows heavily. Her hand has slowed considerably, but it still moves. And Misaki still doesn’t stop it, though it seems as though at times she’s conflicted. Kaoru’s hand is blatantly shivering at this point, nearly up to the base of Misaki’s chest.

That’s when Misaki lets out an abnormally loud exhale, and her hand trails down Kaoru’s arm, coming to rest on her wrist. Beneath her hand, Misaki can feel the bunch of the cloth of her tank top, and swallows heavily. She can feel the way Kaoru shakes despite the way she continues moving. The way her expression seems determined, but there’s a lack of fire in her eyes that had been there earlier. And Kaoru is all too quick to still her hand when Misaki’s hand gently closes around her wrist.

“...M-maybe we shouldn’t…”

Kaoru’s shudders out a breath, and almost as though she’s thrust her hand into a furnace, her hand snaps back out of Misaki’s hold, leaving the shirt to fall back down over previously barred skin. Relief floods into her mind, and her eyelids fall closed with a heaviness she didn’t realize she had.

She was nowhere near ready for this.

“A-aha, if my kitten wishes to wait… uh, what sort of person would I be if--”

She’s cut off abruptly, a soft fingertip pressed against her lips in a shush manner. Kaoru’s eyes crack open in fear, but all she sees is a gentle look on Misaki’s still red face.

“Kaoru. I’ve told you before you know-- you know I love you… but we really shouldn’t… not when it’s got this sort of effect on us. We don’t have to force ourselves into this.”

Misaki’s voice is quiet, it almost sounds weak, and certainly not anything like the Misaki that rounds all of them up in band practice, or even the Misaki from earlier this evening, when they were doing her homework. That alone would have swayed her judgement, if Kaoru didn’t already agree wholeheartedly. Flirting was one thing, harmless words but compared to… whatever it was they were about to do? Kaoru swallowed once more and shakily moved herself back, making to try and get to her feet slowly. Misaki too moves to her knees, pushing herself up and using the cushion of the bed as leverage.

She didn’t notice it before, but it’s kind of gotten late, hasn’t it? The sun’s dipped down past the skyline, and the outside lights buzzed to life at some point, eerily flickering with half-dead bulbs. It’s probably time for her to leave… especially with all that she’s done today. Misaki seems to notice this, and she’s quick to reach out ( her coffee-burned hand, she notes ) and tug at Kaoru’s sleeve.

“Ah… you know that uh… you can stay here. I wouldn’t want to send you back in the middle of the night.”

It’s an exaggeration, but Misaki would still feel horrible making Kaoru walk all the way back to her apartment across the river. She can’t exactly offer her mom or her sister’s bed, but she quietly pats the mattress she’s braced on. “I’m sure it’s nothing compared to yours but uh… you’re welcome to, y’know, crash with me.”

Despite her mood, Kaoru finds it in herself to smile a the gesture. It means more than Misaki knows, because she’s firmly under the impression the evening’s fiasco was her fault for not respecting boundaries. She worried that, at worst, she had potentially broken Misaki’s trust, but that seemed not to be the case.

“That… sounds lovely. But… um…” She trails off, red eyes casting a gaze over her dishevelled school uniform.

Misaki seems to understand though, and quickly strides to her dresser. First and second drawers are pulled to no avail, but the third yields a pair of pajama pants that are clearly a few sizes too big for her, and a similarly large tank top.

“Gifts from my family spending time in America.” Misaki adds quietly, offering them to Kaoru. “They got the size conversions wrong, so they’re basically like the safety net to my safety net pajamas.”

Wordlessly Kaoru nods and exits the room to go change. When she comes back, the main room’s light is off and Misaki is sitting on the bed near the desk lamp. Kaoru hesitantly sits beside her, keeping a fair distance between them until Misaki clicks the lamp off, and slides under the blankets, shifting until she almost against the wall to make room for Kaoru.

Similarly, Kaoru slowly gets beneath the blanket, but remains on the very edge of the bed, precariously balanced to the point where she could fall at any point. But he’s content to remain like this, sleepless all night so long as she doesn’t do something Misaki doesn’t want her to.

They sit in darkness and silence for well over half an hour, likely staring at their respective walls before Misaki quietly whispers for her.

“Kaoru..?”

“Mm?” She tries her best to fake fatigue, but it seems as though she’s expended her good acting for the day.

“Kaoru.” Said a bit louder, and Kaoru blinks, fidgeting on the bed and shifting so that she can face Misaki. And when she does, she finds Misaki staring at her in what little light filters in through the shutters.

She shifts closer, and Kaoru almost makes to move back before she remembers that she’ll very well fall on her ass if she does that. Misaki stops at the middle of the bed though, with a tired look in her eyes betraying the liveliness she’s trying to act with.

“C’mon Kaoru…” Misaki sighs slowly, and one of her arms extends out toward her. “Please, don’t avoid me like this… I know, you’re worried about doing something I don’t verbally approve of, but please.”

It hurts, hearing her plead like this. Kaoru knows she hasn’t technically done anything wrong, she didn’t continue doing something when someone said no. She didn’t use excessive force to hold Misaki down and force her in turn. But it still just rubbed her the wrong way. Even so, it’s more painful to see her like this, and Kaoru is quick to succumb and scoot closer, until she’s laying her head on the same pillow as Misaki, and her scarlet eyes gaze into Misaki’s, half-lidded with exhaustion.

Resigned, Misaki shifts some more so that she can seem as though she rests at the same height as Kaoru, and presses her forehead to Kaoru’s. Her eyes fall closed and she speaks in a quiet murmur.

“I love you Kaoru. Believe me, I want it too, but not right now… we aren’t ready for it.”

Her voice seems distant now, and Kaoru feels hands slowly find her own, gently enveloping her own with Misaki’s and its warm, pleasant. She closes her eyes and feels a soft squeeze in reassurance and Kaoru hums lowly in agreement.

“I love you too Misaki. And I’m sorry.”

She imagines she’ll be met with a sarcastic remark, but when none comes and she opens her eyes, all she can see is Misaki’s face, softer in the beginning of sleep. She returns her forehead to Misaki’s, lightly tilting it so she can press her lips there before closing her own eyes and letting emotional and physical exhaustion weigh in on her body.


	2. Second

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misaki blinks, and Akari can almost hear the deafening dial-up ringing going on in her senior’s head. She goes to say something, clearing her throat and that’s when Misaki practically shoots upright in a mess of limbs.
> 
> “FUCK.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline wise! Misaki is 20 and midway through her second year of college, and Kaoru is 21 and the same through her third year!
> 
> Misaki's major is, as you'll read Sound Design, while Kaoru is studying Literary History!
> 
> HHW is still a thing, they're just taking a break because college is low key difficult to manage, so Kanon, Kaoru and Misaki are studying, Kokoro is travelling the world with her parents and,,, Hagumi is in between jobs and has moved out of her family's home because its high key not good-- but she'll be enrolling into college as well!

Heavy breathing makes Misaki’s chest sting, makes her lungs cry out as though they’ll give out at any second unless she quits. Her lips feel dry as her violent inhales and exhales rake in and out, contrasting heavily to the rest of her face and her body. Even wearing shorts and a small tank top, she feels far too hot in the room as they both cling to her body, damp with sweat that shines a sort of sheen under the gym’s bright overheads. If she could hear herself, she’s certain the athletic sting would feel ten times worse, but it’s been a sort of trick she’s caught onto. If her earbuds blare music loud enough to overpower the sound of her breathing, she won’t be able to hear just how tired she is.

It doesn’t work forever though; her body is starting to catch up.

The amount of crunches, lunges, squats and Gods knew what else was all but lost on her, and the current song, a damn near deafening blast of Hello Happy’s cover of Silhouette is doing very little to help jog memory.

Ew jog. That thought reminds her that her calves are positively on fire right now, and against her better judgement tries to do some heel raises to alleviate that burn. Oh that was a mistake.

She’s lucky she didn’t give out right then and there, legs wobbling as she feels a sound in her throat from the surprise. She’s quick to fall back on her heels, and then some, back to the ground in a painful sitting position. Yeesh, if the exercise wasn’t bad enough, now she’s gonna have an ache in her tailbone all afternoon. It’s downright surprising how tired she is though, she muses quietly.

Sure, she’s been skipping a few days here and there to catch up with some people, but it shouldn’t have had this bad of an effect on her. She’s only been here an hour or so.

A hand clamping down on her shoulder brings her back to the forefront of her mind and she grunts in response, eyes dull but wide with surprise as she glances over her shoulder.

Dark brown hair meets her eyes, slung over the shoulder of her surprise visitor, and it leads up to a face with soft, downturned hazel eyes. It takes a moment for recognition to brighten Misaki’s eyes up, and she offers her companion a small nod in greeting. Her voice is rough and breathy, still very tired out from her workout as she yanks her earbuds out, echoes of Kokoro’s high voice ringing in her ears.

“Akari.”

The girl in question returns it with a gentle smile of her own. While Misaki is all well and pleased to see her Monday-Wednesday companion, Akari has always had a hellish schedule on Fridays. Even in High School as a part of the Tennis Club with Misaki, her then underclassman always had some kind of family business the afternoons that preoccupied her time until well after noon. It’s probably the first time Misaki has seen her here this early, and the surprise is evident on her face and in her voice.

“12:00 is early to see you around, Akari. Trying to get your regiment out of the way?”

Confusion flashes in Akari’s face, eyebrows pulled together in a furrow. Her eyes turn downward as she raises her arm, glancing to the watch on her wrist. When this nets Misaki a look of further confusion, Akari also looks over her shoulder toward the door to the Women’s locker room. She lets out a hum of finality and silently gestures with her thumb. Misaki narrows her eyes to a squint as she makes out the digital clock up on the wall, showing with faded characters...

[ 1 3 : 1 7 ]

Realization comes slow as fucking molasses on a lateral plane. Thirteen? That can’t be right, she only started her workout an hour or so ago. She blankly raises a hand to look at her wrist, mentally smacking the back of her head with a board when she remembers her watch finally died on her a few weeks back. She can faintly hear Akari giggle at the motion, but otherwise remains quiet, watching with curiosity as Misaki’s hand goes to the wire of her headphones, tracing it downwards toward her pocket. Her phone is pulled out with less grace than she would have liked, and she almost drops it at one point as she yanks it from the folds of her shorts, but she makes it.

Interestingly enough, the phone’s screen also shows her a much later time of 13:18. Beneath the time, she can see a couple of symbols, a receiver and an envelope most frequent as they pan out to the bottom of the screen. Sliding her phone unlocked, Misaki’s head tilts to the side, eyes scanning over the messages that had been silenced in the phone’s Do-Not-Disturb mode.

[ S.Kao sent -> ~1+ hour. ( Hello, my dearest and most beloved !!! Would you be so kind as to tell me which part of campus you will be awaiting me? I shan’t wish to keep you too long!! <3 <3 <3 ) ]

[ S.Kao sent -> ~45 minutes. ( I will be departing from class momentarily, where shall I rendezvous with you, my love? ) ]

[ S.Kao sent -> ~33 minutes. ( Misa, my dear, do you wish me to scour the campus parking lots, that I may find you? ; ) A fleeting prospect…. ) ]

[ S.Kao sent -> ~20 minutes. ( Misaki? Is everything alright? Text me whenever you get this and you’re on your way. I’ve run into Chisato and we’re going to get some coffee from that place on the north side of campus. Drive safely. <3 ) ]

Misaki blinks, and Akari can almost hear the deafening dial-up ringing going on in her senior’s head. She goes to say something, clearing her throat and that’s when Misaki practically shoots upright in a mess of limbs.

“FUCK.”

Were the overhead music not loud and the sound of AC machines running, Akari thinks Misaki might’ve drawn the attention of the entire clientele of the gym as she bolts in the direction of the locker room. She can only stand in awe, a smile slowly weaving onto her lips from the sheer hilarity of it as Misaki almost body slams the door in an effort to get it open. It’s when she turns to take a look at what sort of machines she herself would be using for the day when she notices stark white against the black, rubber tiles of the gym floor. It’s connected to… Misaki’s phone, which punctuates the entire scene by brightening its screen, reading 13:20 and showing the missed messages.

Soft brown eyes go wide and she quickly bends over to snatch the phone and earbuds up before taking off in the direction of the locker room. If Misaki was in that much of a rush to leave, she probably would be just grabbing her stuff and leaving, not bothering with a shower. Gross as that was, the bigger problem was going to be her driving off without her phone.

When she gets through the door though, there’s no sign of Misaki. The locker she recognizes as the one Misaki often snatches up is wide open, her usual lock still hanging open.

Sheesh, Misaki gets really clumsy when she’s in a panic, huh?

The lock is less of a problem, and a pretty cheap one to be honest. Misaki won’t miss it, so Akari quickly jogs out into the hall, pausing for a moment to get her bearings before taking off toward the building’s front. She’s just rushed out, breathing in a lung full of cool autumn air, when she sees Misaki’s car finish backing out from its spot. Offhandedly, Akari marvels at just how Misaki managed to get to her car so fast in her physically exhausted state. Just a testament to her ability ( that Kaoru better have counted herself among the luckiest ).

Against better judgement, she dashes out into the street, frantically waving her arms to get Misaki’s attention. And that is exactly what she does, if the wide eyes and inaudible shout inside her car was anything to go off of. She’s quick to run up to the driver side window, knocking on it even as Misaki begins rolling it down.

“Akari, I really need to go, I’m really late and I have to pickup--”

“Without this, you aren’t going to get very far.”

Almost cheekily, Akari raises the phone in her hands, earbuds wrapped around her fingers. Recognition dawns on Misaki’s face and she bangs her head down against the steering wheel with a loud groan. Despite the amused smile on Akari’s face, she reaches into the window, offering her the phone. It’s taken with a grateful nod when Misaki looks back up to her, and it’s quickly hooked up to the radio system as she speaks again.

“Sheesh, I really appreciate it. Listen, I really do need to go, but text me later and I can pay you back for this. Really.”

Taking a step back for Misaki, Akari simply rolls her eyes and waves dismissively.

“Yeah, yeah okay. Go get your girlfriend before the university traffic gets too bad and she’s stuck with pre-shower you smell.”

With a last giggle from Akari, Misaki waves goodbye and quickly shifts back into drive, going perhaps a little too fast for a parking lot to get to the road. It seems like the small heart attack of finding out she’s about half an hour late at this point was the extent of her bad luck. Most lights remain a blinking green to her delight, with only a sparing few close calls on yellow. It’s only as she draws closer to the campus that she starts to get caught in the slower zones, and ultimately a couple of stoplights.

It’s a campus one, and she’s in a rush, so clearly it’s obligated to be one of the longest damn reds this side of the planet has seen. When the song fades out and the light shows no signs of switching in her favor, Misaki quickly snatches her phone up and taps it twice, seeking out the messenger app quickly.

With her gaze occasionally flicking up toward the light so she doesn’t miss it by .00001 seconds and get heckled by the idiot behind her, she tries typing out a message. Naturally, it turns green about three-fourths the way through, and the message goes to hell, something sent to Kaoru along the lines of:

[ b ther soon. Lon g light ]

As she turns into the campus proper, she sighs with relief. All things considered, she’s not too terribly late, not quite an hour. A glance at the clock reveals she’s exactly fifty-three minutes late, so it may as well be, but y’know. Small victories. The east side of campus is much easier to maneuver through than the north since it doesn’t have a popular food court, so she gets in through there, passing by the on campus residential district.

A couple turns and the court is in view. Whatever gods there were still up there laughing down at her seemed to have some manner of pity; there’s a spot relatively close to the coffee place Kaoru mentioned. She pulls up, quickly sending another message to Kaoru once she’s in park and staring intently to her screen. She’s received some kind of response from Kaoru, but she skips it over in favor of typing up her heads up.

[ Sent to S.Kao - ( Parked just outside of the place… no rush. ) ]

Misaki leans over to dig around in her bag for something like deodorant or something that would make her a little less disgusting to sit next to. When she managed to find the stick, she’s quick to uncap it and rub it literally anywhere she can. A quick check in the console reveals one of those scent things for the AC, and that’s quickly put in place too. Smells like orange- nice.

[ Sent to S.Kao - ( Say sorry to Chisato for me. ) ]

Sent just in time it seems. Misaki can see the door to the coffee place open just a bit, then quickly close with nobody coming out yet. Probably Kaoru. That reminds Misaki, and she quickly turns to the passenger seat and grabs her work out bag, tossing it towards the back seat.

Sharp bell ring now that her phone is off do not disturb makes her jump in surprise and Misaki glances down toward the phone’s screen.

[S.Kao sent ~ >1 second ( Have you come to whisk me away on bike or car ? )

[ Sent to S.Kao - ( box car ) ]

The cafe door opens once more, and she can see Kaoru walk out in all her glory, light tan coat and muted scarf fluttering in what she can only assume is a chilly breeze. What little sun breaking through the overcast skies catches each pearl resting around her neck, and from there, Misaki’s gaze falls lower to the grey and white woolen turtleneck tucked into high waist black pants. She briefly glances to her shoes, can almost hear the click of the boots’ heels as she strides with purpose along the sidewalk, trying to locate the car in question. Misaki sighs something soft, eyes intently following Kaoru’s figure as she walks this way.

She’s got a coffee in her hand it looks like which is odd considering she’s been with Chisato for almost an hour, and Kaoru isn’t one to neglect her drink. It’s sort of like a safety net, something she can fall back on when her confidence stutters, Misaki has noticed. Something that tends to happen quite frequently around the other actress, much to Misaki’s quiet jealousy and more than once she’s almost entertained the thought of going to Chisato for… advice. She gets along well enough with Chisato, they talk when she comes over and can go on mutual tirades over Kaoru’s eccentricities for what seems like hours. It had been a trying month or so after she first met properly with Chisato that day back in high school, what with her being Kaoru’s childhood friend, but in the end it worked out. Misaki found it amusing how much of an effect Chisato could have on Kaoru, and delighted in being told the Romeo and Juliet story.

She’s interrupted by a light knock to the passenger door window, and Misaki’s gaze quickly shoots in it’s direction.

Ah, Kaoru finally saw her. Offering an apologetic wave of the hand, the car unlocks with a resounding click, and Kaoru is able to open the door.

“Misaki, my dearly beloved~!”

Misaki almost winces at that. Kaoru’s as loud as ever, and it’s by a saving grace that the car’s windows are tinted just so that the passerby looking her way can’t quite put a face to the name Kaoru called out. Once the car door is closed and Kaoru is seated properly, belt clicking into place, she leans over toward Misaki’s side, offering a smile and an attempt at planting a kiss to her cheek. Misaki’s eyes widen in response, and a hand is roughly shoved in Kaoru’s face.

“Oh no you don’t.”

That gets Kaoru to blink, red eyes staring curiously at her in between splayed fingers.

“I lost track of time and came here directly from the gym without showering.” Misaki grimaces at the declaration herself, and rather keenly feels the way her clothes, although not near as damp as when she first got in the car, stick to her arms and legs uncomfortably. To say nothing of the way Misaki’s certain she smells, one she hopes is decently covered by the mix of an unhealthy amount of deodorant and the car freshener she set into place.

Even so, despite her warnings and insistence against it, she can see Kaoru’s head tilt, and the beginnings of a wider smile form. And the she can feel the unmistakable brush of Kaoru’s lips pressing onto the palm of her hand, Kaoru’s eyes falling closed with a hum.

“E-eh!? Kaoru I told you-“

“Ah-ah, my dear!” Kaoru’s speaking against her hand now, voice slightly muffled and lips moving against her palm. “Not even the greatest of distances could hold me from expressing my love! Why then should something so paltry as a workout keep me from you?”

Misaki remains embarrassingly quiet for a moment as a soft blush paints its way across her cheeks. After a moment of staring as Kaoru gives her an increasingly charming smile and yet another kiss to the hand for good measure, she quickly snatches it back, a fist curling against her chest as she lets out a scoff. Kaoru continues smiling that infuriatingly pretty smile in return, having even the audacity to tilt her head as though she were curious to the problem. Misaki’s eyes roll and she lets out a quick huff as she throws the car into reverse.

“Whatever, don’t get used to it.”

Wisely, Kaoru chooses to drop the subject, leaning back into the leather of the seat and idly unlocking her phone to scroll through social media. The way out of the campus is fairly annoying in its own right, doubly so with as many people as there are trying to leave and Kaoru already isn’t fond of traffic. Not because it’s annoying or anything like that, though it really is sometimes, but she’s just… never taken well to driving in general and the accident kind of sealed the deal on that one. She’s perfectly content to have Misaki drive her places, even though there are times when she has to forcibly keep her eyes glued to the phone’s screen to avoid seeing how narrowly she makes merges or green-to-yellow lights. Misaki doesn’t seem to mind either, so that’s a plus.

She only raises her head when she’s addressed as they turn left out of the campus, tilting her head so she can regard Misaki.

“You got cash on you? I don’t.”

Kaoru purses her lips, raising her bag and digging around the first and second pockets for her wallet. If the resigned sigh is any indicator, she looks back to Misaki and shakes her head.

“Alas my love, I have nothing but my cards on me.”

Misaki sighs in defeat and gives Kaoru a nod. A shame, looks like they won’t be taking the highway for at least another few days. She doesn’t get paid officially until next Tuesday, and that personal project isn’t getting uploaded any time soon, even if she puts nose to the grindstone for the rest of the day.

“Ah well, that’s fine. Guess it’ll be frontage roads for most of the way home.”

Kaoru hums her agreement and returns her attention to the phone in hand, seemingly drafting up a post to one of her social media accounts if the white and baby blue is anything to go off of. That she can see out the corner of her eye of course, because she isn’t looking anywhere but the road. Of course.

Misaki’s hand reaches out, one firmly kept on the wheel in case Kaoru glances up to her, and idly begins swapping through radio channels. Most of the radio shows are going on about the weather or similarly uninteresting things and Misaki hums something dull as she tries to find something that’d make good background noise. She almost skips over a particular one when she briefly catches [ Roselia ] among the quick speaking host's words. Her humming ceases, and she quickly flits her gaze to the radio with a quirked brow. The same hand she had reached out with twists the volume, bringing the host’s voice louder. It seems to get Kaoru’s attention as well, if the darkening of the screen to her left is any indicator.

He’s going on about Roselia’s most recent single, a song called ONENESS, and judging by the enthusiastic lift in his voice, Misaki can safely assume it’s been a success. He’s droning on and on about it though, and for a moment Misaki doesn’t think she’ll ever get to hear the song he’s talking about. It’s as her hand returns to the other on the wheel that a female co-host speaks up, a squeaky high pitched thing that isn’t unlike Kokoro’s voice, and announces the song once more before it begins.

It’s got a slow start, tamer than most of the Roselia songs she’s heard and holding an emphasis on the vocals of the whole group. They’ve gotten much better as a group she muses quietly, and for a moment, she thinks back to Hello Happy World, almost tempted to grab her phone in one hand and check that group message for updates from the other three. That would be not only a bad move for her sake, it surely wouldn’t do any favors to Kaoru, and just might land her with the less enthused voice she’s seen used with those Kaoru doesn’t take too kindly to.

Strumming she immediately recognizes as Sayo’s kicks in and despite herself, Misaki nods. Yep, that sounded much more like a Roselia song and the rise of Yukina’s voice solidified that. The song now is fast paced, much more to Misaki’s liking, and she quickly takes to tapping her index and middle finger against the wheel to the beat, even bobbing her head to the beat as it bleeds into the chorus.

She can hear more than see the movement to her side and she discreetly tilts her head to the side so she can get a better idea of what’s going on. Kaoru’s phone has slid down against the bottom of the seat between her legs, forgotten as Kaoru’s hand are raised in what looks like a vague motion of holding a guitar, albeit with her hand only as far to the left as the car would allow.

Misaki can feel herself smile at the motions, though quietly keeps to herself so Kaoru doesn’t stop. Kaoru still plays guitar here and there, even if Hello Happy is on a slight hiatus with Kokoro on some kind of self-discovery trip that Misaki has a sinking suspicion is just her wanting to see other parts of the world.

The others are all over the place, college and universities taking most of their time more than the girls academies ever did. She knows Kanon is going to some university down in Yokohama to be close to the ocean, which is fair. She’s studying marine biology or something of the sort and works at the aquatic amusement park down there, so it’s not surprising how little time she has. Although, Misaki muses, she might be getting some more free time with the cooler weather. Kaoru is, clearly, living with Misaki and the two of them are enrolled at a university here in Hiroshima. Of course, to absolutely nobody’s surprise, she’s studying literature while remaining active in theater. Hagumi… just thinking about her makes Misaki grip the steering wheel tighter, and her eyes narrow as they return to the road ahead of her. She hasn’t heard recently from her, but last she did hear, Hagumi had essentially moved out of her parents’ house and was basically living out in her car while taking part time jobs when she could.

“Misaki?” Ah, she hadn’t noticed… her knuckles were kinda getting white weren’t they? She bit the side of her lip and sighed, glancing in Kaoru’s direction for a second before looking again to the road.

“Sorry, just thinking… uh, about a bunch of stuff, y’know?”

Kaoru shifted out of sight, her hands returning to her lap for a moment before she point just in sight toward the cup holder.

“Aha, well perhaps this will help raise your spirits! I got it just before I left for you… although perhaps I should have given it to you a little bit earlier, hm?”

Ah, so that’s where she had put that drink she saw Kaoru walking out with. At the next stoplight, she quickly took it in hand, breathing in and almost immediately brightening at the scent of cinnamon. Kaoru really was too good to be true sometimes… She hummed thankfully as she took of sip, though her brow lofted at the taste. Not the usual coffee she got, though the taste wasn’t bad. It wasn’t something she had tasted in awhile and it took awhile to place, though when she did her lip quirked up in a goofy smile.

“Seriously?” Kaoru had begun grinning the moment she realized. “You’re gonna place me with the stereotype of literally every other female on the internet and get me a pumpkin spice drink?”

“Aha, but it has its own unique thing to make it yours, something no other kitten could compare to!”

Misaki looks unconvinced, but continues to sip from the container as she drives, keeping the hand that’s on the wheel firm

“...It’s got extra cinnamon. I made sure that they put much more in than they normally did!” Kaoru’s smile falters for a moment, and it lacks confidence for a brief second, as though she worried it wasn’t good.

To which Misaki quickly shakes her head, taking another large sip. “It’s perfect, Kaoru. I appreciate it.”

The rest of the drive ends up quiet, the radio going back to yet another boring talk show after the music and getting promptly silenced. Kaoru returns to her phone, and Misaki to her thoughts, idly taking sips of the coffee until it’s gone.

After Hagumi there was, of course, Misaki herself. Michelle had ‘retired’ from the stage for Misaki to take her place, and the transition had, all in all, gone fairly smoothly. There had been an obligatory week of sadness on the parts of Hagumi, Kokoro and Kaoru to keep up with the facade that Misaki was not truly Michelle ( if it was a facade, her brain supplies ). It took awhile to get used to, being on the stage as herself and not as Michelle, having people knowing full well that it was her, but she’d grown used to it. At the very least, it certainly made it easier to deal with all the records, sliders, buttons and everything else on her decks.

Of course, with Hello Happy on hiatus, she was in much the same position as the others: drowning in college. Honestly speaking? She had no idea what she wanted to going in, only that she had wanted to stay by Kaoru because that last year in high school while Kaoru and Kanon were at university had been… very difficult for her. Misaki had ended up just locking herself into a music focused pathway, though with a lack of specific instrument, she ended up in sound design. Her saving grace is that she was somewhat famous from the time in Hello Happy, so they were quick to accept her into some of the higher level courses. Still… Misaki can’t really say that she’s all that passionate about sound design, just that it’s something she and reluctantly gotten good at, and she didn’t really have anything else she could rely on. Tennis was a shaky option at best since she was far less active with it in high school and had average rankings in tournaments she was able to attend with her schedule. No proper job options either, so it was a stroke of the gods’ luck that she landed a position for the campus radio and moved through their ranks over the course of the year. ( There was, of course, also the channel she uploaded mixes to when she had spare time but that wasn’t exactly a stable income… )

But… she digresses. The frontage road is approaching an underpass, and that’s her cue. She pulls up to the sign and flickers her signal on, and she can hear Kaoru begin to shift again, knowing they’re almost there. Beyond the underpass, they only need to take a few turns here and there, and they’re approaching the house they’re renting. It’s a small thing, single story, two bedrooms, two bathrooms the works. She pulls up to the garage, throwing the car into park and taking the keys from the ignition, twisting to the side so she can reach into the back for her bag.

She and Kaoru get in through the front, placing their shoes just shy of the carpet and make their way to the living room proper. Almost immediately, Misaki turns to make a beeline for her room before Kaoru can say anything, calling over her shoulder.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

“Make sure you use warm water love! You can’t tell me you’re not cold after being outside in those clothes.”

Misaki grunts and closes the bedroom door, locking it behind her. She steps into the bathroom to get the shower on and begin to heat up while she fetches the phone charger from her bag and plugs that in.

Miraculously, there’s no interruptions while Misaki’s getting cleaned, the shower going by in relative peace. It certainly felt good to get cleaned after sitting around in the car for almost an hour covered in sweat and grime. Plus, well, she’s rather certain Kaoru would prefer the smell of ‘crisp apple’, like the shampoo supposedly was, to post-workout smell.

A quick glance to her bedside clock tells Misaki it’s only 15:26, and there’s still probably at least a good three hours until they need to figure out what’s for dinner. That ought to give her enough time to make some progress on that next project of hers. But first, she muses, she’s gotta get a drink for the three hour work session… and maybe a premeditated Aleve if she’s gonna be staring at the screen for that long. In sweats and a sweatshirt, and snagging her phone even though it’s only been charging maybe fifteen minutes, Misaki leaves her room in favor of the kitchen.

Across the living room, the door to Kaoru’s room is cracked open, so she assumes Kaoru is busy with one of many books or plays she has to read by next week. Best not to interrupt her, but maybe making her a drink as well wouldn’t hurt. She had her mind set on tea, so if they’re both going to be working for the three hours, black tea is kind of what she’s thinking of.

When the water is safely contained within the kettle and placed over the stove to warm up, Misaki takes her phone from her pocket, idly flicking to her texts. She’s got a couple from her younger sister that she smiles fondly at. Hanako’s… gods, Hanako is in middle school now, it’s such a weird thought… soon enough she’ll be at Hanasakigawa, won’t she? Misaki sighs wistfully at that, shaking her head and backing out to check what else she has.

A couple texts from Moca, mostly about how they really should hang out at that cafe they met up at last time because the buns were, as she eloquently put it, ‘hella’. She sends a short text asking about availability before backing out of that conversation. Hm, it’s odd that she hasn’t gotten a message from Kanon yet today, so that’s next on her list. And, if the sound of the kettle is anything to go off of, also the last thing she’ll get to before it’s time to pour the water. Just a brief greeting and ‘how are things going’ for today, since she assumes Kanon is busy.

With the stove quickly switched off, she goes digging through the cabinets to find the teapot. When she eventually does, the water is poured in carefully, a little bit going into both of their cups ahead of time to warm them up. A couple black tea leaves go into the teapot to steep, and eventually the tea is properly poured, strained so that there’s no remaining bits of tea leaves that sneak into the teacups. They’re carefully held, one to either hand as she approaches Kaoru’s door. Nudging the door open with her knee, precariously balanced because gods, it’s really not easy to keep both teacups at the perfect angle that they don’t threaten to spill over.

“Kaoru, I made us both some tea that should stave us off until dinner.”

Kaoru’s on her bed, surprisingly messy for her, and there’s no shortage of papers and books around her. Red eyes glance up to her for a moment, lips moving in quiet words as she, presumably, mouths the parts of a script, or the part she’s focused on. Though as soon as she finishes, thin line of her lips turns to a smile and she brightens up noticeably.

“Ah~ how fortunate am I? To be blessed this day with one so beautiful as yourself delivering unto me a gift most appreciated-”

Misaki quickly cut off the speech, interrupting her with a rough clear of the throat.

“I won’t distract you long from your theatrics, I’ve got my own stuff to do for while.”

Kaoru simply smiles and nods, gratefully taking the teacup and shifting up onto her knees, balancing the teacup dangerously in hand as presses a quick kiss to Misaki’s lips. In the privacy of their current home, Misaki smiles softly and nods, turning on heel to head for the door. As she’s exiting, she can just make out Kaoru giving her a quiet thank you before her eyes return to the overturned script on her bed.

Back in her own room, she safely places the tea on her desk before all but collapsing into the chair she has there. Her laptop is slow to boot up, likely from all the files she has on the computer ( frankly, she really needs to go on a file purge of previous assignments and literally everything that isn’t band related or school related ). As soon as it brings up the lock screen, Misaki keys in the password and beelines the mouse for the FL Studios shortcut on the desktop, well placed away from other masses of files in the dead center of the screen.

As soon as the project loads in, Misaki glances briefly at the teacup and takes a sip before diving headfirst into the remix files.

\---

Misaki’s lost in her own world in a way, nothing but the glaring light of the screen in her eyes, despite of having dark mode switch on for literally every website she has up, and FL Studios isn’t really the brightest app either. Her hearing is reigned in by the headset clamped over her head, blasting the same tune she’s been listening to and tweaking for the last few hours. Her fingers and wrists have begun to ache from the constant press of keys and moving of the mouse. She thinks she saw her door open a while earlier, out the corner of her eye, and she thought maybe Kaoru had entered but she was intent on finishing the remix today and getting it uploaded, so unsure distractions like that could wait. Just a higher pitch here, a pick up in speed for the last several notes that would lead into a fading echo as the song inevitably ended, and there!

Misaki’s eyes fall shut in relief as the last notes of the song blare in her headset. It’s finally done, and she thinks she voices that much to nobody in particular as her arms lift up and over her head, shoulders popping she reaches as far back as she can. It’s such a weight lifted off her back, and with any luck, the video will be up before she goes to bed tonight, and she won’t need to worry about another upload until the end of next month.

It a shock when she feels gentle hands on the inner part of her interlocked arms, trailing down to her shoulders and then feels thumbs press insistently into her stiff shoulders. She grits her teeth in response, a long groan trickling through as she relaxes as best she can into the touch. It’s less of a surprise when moments later she feels the point of Kaoru’s chin resting over her head, nestled into still-damp black hair, and then the low vibrations that lead into her speaking.

“My dear, you’ve been at it for quite some time, and your elation is truly a fleeting thing to behold, but perhaps we should both take a moment to get something to eat, hm? Surely your energy will be renewed?”

“Actually, I just finished it. I want to get the video rendering properly before that happens, give me juuuuust a second….” She trails off as she brings up the website proper, clicks a few things here and there and discretely enters her password before beginning the process.

Misaki’s head moves suddenly, and Kaoru gets the hint, standing tall again as Misaki swivels around in her chair, slouching in poor posture, and gazes up to Kaoru.

“Alright, what do you feel like? I don’t think we have a lot of options in the fridge because uh…. I may have neglected to go to the store on Wednesday and pick up some frozen stuff.”

Kaoru hums in thought, stepping back to recline against the edge of Misaki’s bed . There were a couple good options to be sure, downtown wasn’t too far away and a good deal of those evening restaurants should be open now. Briefly, she considered bringing up the yakitori place near the library, but then quickly decided against it. With the time being as it was, she really wasn’t up to sitting in a restaurant full of drunk salarymen.

“I’m not really feeling ramen since we had some a couple times last week… what about that sushi place in the mall?”

Kaoru brightens at the offer, quickly nodding. It hadn’t disappointed them as of yet, and the food was fairly cheap per plate, so long as they didn’t branch out into too many navy striped plates.

“Ah, that sounds like a lovely idea Misaki. I’ll go get ready.”

As Kaoru is walking out, Misaki calls after her.

“I don’t feel like taking the car, so get changed.”

“As you wish, my love~”

And then Misaki is left to change for the third time that day. Heavy pants are pulled on first, secured tightly around her waist, soon to be followed with the knee braces strapped on over them. As much as she’d like to wear a sweatshirt beneath the padded jacket, it was more of a hassle than anything, especially if the sleeves wound up riding up her forearms, so she shucks the sweatshirt in favor of a tank top. Before the jacket is slipped on, Misaki first preemptively adds in the back plating and the arm guards before tugging her arm through padded leather sleeves. It’s a bit of a tight fit at first, flexing her arm to try and make some more space before sliding the zipper up to her neck. She purses her lips at her gloves, considering it for a moment, finger trailing over the knuckle guards before shaking her head. No, gotta fasten the boots at the front before getting the gloves on otherwise she’ll never be able to tie the knot. They’re grabbed and thrown into the same bag as her wallet and phone are.

When Misaki gets to the Genkan, she quickly steps over Kaoru’s legs as she’s fastening her boots into place to get to her own. They’re pulled out and unceremoniously dropped to the hardwood floor and the door is left open so they can both get to their helmets afterwards. She drops down next to Kaoru, beginning to fasten them into place as she glances to Kaoru. She can see the attached bluetooth, electric blue glimmer reminding her to activate her own before reaching back into her bag for the gloves.

Misaki has to guide the motorcycle down the driveway first, coming to a stop just shy of the road before she gives Kaoru the nod to climb on behind her. Kaoru is warm against her back, and though she can’t feel it through the leather and back guard, she can hear the drag of fabric as she winds an arm around her and placed her other arm firmly on Misaki’s right shoulder. Unlike Misaki, she wears a mesh safety jacket, much easier to move around in to delight, and certainly makes it easier to keep a protective hold around Misaki as they drive off. They’ve only just gotten out of the neighborhood when she hears the earpiece hum to life, and Kaoru’s voice sounds all around the inside of her helmet though her chin is rested over Misaki’s left shoulder.

“You seemed quite pleased about finishing up that project of yours, Misaki. You were working on it for awhile then, I assume?”

“Yeah, it was my monthly upload, and I’ve kinda been in a music block for a week or so… frankly I’m surprised I was able to get it done in the time I had today.”

The low chuckle resounding in her helmet makes her shiver slightly, as does the press of Kaoru’s helmet against her back, as though she were trying to nuzzle her with the damn thing on.

“I’m not. When you really put your mind to it, you accomplish some astounding things, love.”

Kaoru’s only response is Misaki’s scoff, and the slight shift as Misaki slows down, extends her arm to the side as she motions to merge over into the next lane. As soon as they’re out of the residential district, Kaoru tightens the grip she has on Misaki, presses closer as she feels Misaki begin to lean forward, revving the motorcycle. Downtown isn’t too terribly far from here, maybe ten minutes if the traffic isn’t too bad for this. Most people should, in theory, be heading out from downtown rather than to seeing as it’s getting closer to 19:00. Kaoru voices as much to Misaki, and she can feel a terse nod as she picks up the pace, bordering the speed printed on the limit sign they just passed.

Soon enough, the turn for the mall comes into view a few blocks ahead a rather lengthy queue of people trying to head out. Perfect. That probably meant there were a couple open spots to choose from.

There wasn’t.

Misaki’s probably circled around the lot for the relevant entrance to the mall twice or so, and she’s about to to call it with a curse on her lips when ahead, someone’s car begins reversing out of a spot, and Misaki almost shouts with glee. Even further ahead, she sees someone else’s car turn down the same road, with clear eyes on the spot as well. Misaki’s grip on the handlebars tightens and she creeps forward. Oh luck was with her today it seemed, and the person backing out was backing out in her direction.

Much to Kaoru’s dismay, as soon as there was ample space between the still backing driver, Misaki quickly threaded her way between bumpers and snagged the spot before the other guy could inch forward and steal it. It grants her a dirty look, one she revels in if only to spite him, and Kaoru is glad that the helmets are tinted, hiding her expression from sight.

Both dismounted from the bike, Kaoru is eager to take the helmet off, shaking her head this way and that as she tries to get her hair out o the bunches it was in. Ah, the vice in having long hair, but this too was fleeting, and it would take only a couple smoothing strokes to return to something presentable. Misaki on the other hand needn’t worry about her hair. It fit rather well in the helmet, and taking it off did little to make a mess of her black locks. Misaki takes a moment longer to unzip the jacket a bit, freeing her chest to feel the cool wind beneath her tank top and sighing pleasantly.

“Let’s go, before the lines get too unpleasant.”

And Kaoru is all too quick to agree, having only chosen to get a drink when she spent time with Chisato much earlier in the day. They walk side by side, Misaki’s still padded gloves tentatively brushing against Kaoru’s in quiet offering. The black of both of their uniforms and gloves blends well, draws less attention to their free hands than the hands that hold in them both their white helmets, and Kaoru isn’t so foolish as to decline such a generous offer on Misaki’s part. She’s certain she can feel through her gloves better than Misaki’s padded ones, the way her hand nervously twitches when they pass a little too close to other people. There are few words she can offer without drawing attention from any one of these passerby, so instead Kaoru softly squeezes Misaki’s hand drawing nearer to her so their hands are nigh lost in the mess of black and off-black fabric.

All things considered, it’s not a terrible wait once they arrive at the sushi restaurant, a family of four and an elderly couple ahead of them. The couple is lovely, though Misaki spent the next fifteen or so minutes with the wife watching the husband and Kaoru get into a heated debate about theater. In time though, the couple stood to find the place at the conveyor belt wiped down and prepared for them.

“Okusawa, two?” The voice overhead called, and Misaki is quick to stand at attention, giving the man at the podium a nod. The two are guided to two seats prepared at the edge, with one well against the wall that the conveyor belt eventually fed into.

As Misaki expects, the multicolored plates winding down the belt are among the more expensive variety, what with how busy it is, people are certainly going to get the cheaper things if they can. Misaki quietly suggests they maybe wait it out a bit with the powder green tea, wait for some of the larger parties to leave and Kaoru hums her approval, already reaching for the small container.

Both women take a turn in spooning the powder in, Kaoru doing so first so she can use the automated faucet to pour a decent amount of water in while Misaki is getting her own powder ready. They idly toast, gently clinking the tea glasses together before taking a sip. As to be expected of cheap tea, it’s a bit bitter, and has Misaki scrunching her nose a bit as she sips at it. It won’t be too hard to counteract though, a couple of smaller, sweeter sushi plates if they ever manage to get down this far. Kaoru’s got a similar look on her face, though Misaki is well tuned enough to her girlfriend to know it’s not from the taste of the tea. It’s from the sushi that passes by containing raw fish.

Certainly not every single one that passes by, but enough to get Kaoru to go out of her way and busy herself with the tea. Flagging down one of the men behind the belt, she pulls up one of the menus folded behind the faucet, catching Kaoru’s curious gaze. Pointing out to a particular section, she requests two small bowls of miso soup, pointedly looking to Kaoru afterwards and offering a soft smile.

Still, Kaoru takes another sip, though her face is much more relaxed now that she’s focused on something other than the raw fish passing by. “Ahh, my dearly beloved. To be known so well as to find so quickly something to give me comfort? That sort of love is truly fleeting…” She’s got a wistful sort of look on her face, and Misaki’s eyes roll.

“Fleeting, huh? You know, I kind of hope not. I’m at least trying to make this last as long as I can.” Given a sly wink, Kaoru quickly blinks in surprise, and a gentle blush rises to her cheeks. Her head shakes immediately and it’s almost a frantic motion. 

“No, no- you are not the only one Misaki, I was just-” She pauses, taking a longer moment than most to try and think of something to say. “Uh well, you know, as the great bard once told us-”

She doesn’t get an opportunity to finish that though as Misaki shakes her head, and the man behind the belt returns with two generously filled bowls of soup, thinly sliced spring onions floating at the top.

“I get what you’re trying to say. C’mon though, we can’t let these get cold huh?” A thankful look is given to the man, and Misaki makes a mental note to tack on something extra for him in particular.

Kaoru’s taken the hint at least, and rather than continue her conjecture, she’s eagerly takes the bowl in hand and sips at it’s edge, humming almost immediately in delight. Far too much delight for someone who’s supposed favorite food was a general toss-up of Austrian cake or a potato and leek stew, but Misaki was content to quietly watch with a knowing smile on her lips. The soup is good, warm and good flavor that certainly helps wash down the taste of the green tea, and effectively keeps both their attentions for several minutes more.

Slow by slow, more options are coming by their little corner of the restaurant, and Misaki’s eyes follow Kaoru’s as she glances over the varying types of sushi. Misaki, of course, having a wider selection to choose from with her tolerance of raw fish. As luck would have it though, Kaoru’s first plate comes before Misaki’s in the form of a yellow plated tamagoyaki on its way just behind a navy plated dish that Misaki has to almost physically restrain herself from nabbing. With Kaoru’s first plate plucked, Misaki focuses more intently on the passing plates, looking for something she would recognize to be sweet.

She can hear Kaoru’s hand digging through the drawer left of the faucet for two pairs of chopsticks as she spots a green striped plate. A step up in price from Kaoru’s but not enough to be anywhere near worrying. She’s always had a thing for crunchy sort of foods, enjoying the fried taste. Perhaps it was because most family restaurants had their own way of cooking things, and most of the time it ended up fried, but the tempura roll on its way is far too enticing to resist. 

So she doesn’t.

The plate is neatly snagged and set before her, taking a moment to hold her chopsticks correctly and thank Kaoru for them before eating one of the rolls. Slight glance to her side shows Kaoru has made decent progress on the tamagoyaki through small bites, and Misaki almost scoffs aloud.

No scratch that. If the way Kaoru is suddenly gazing at her inquisitively, it was aloud.

“Is something the matter, love?”

Misaki quickly shakes her head, rushing through the roll in her mouth before making to speak.

“Y’know, even though we’re around lot’s of people, you don’t have to worry about being princely or anything like that. I know how much you enjoy the non-raw items from here.”

Kaoru’s responding chuckle is quiet, almost forced and Misaki frowns. Ah, had she been a bit too blunt again? Pale blues quickly fall back toward her own plate, and she huffs as she gracelessly stuffs the second of the three rolls on the plate into her mouth. She mumbles out an apology in between bites, and when she’s swallowed it down she glances back toward Kaoru.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have... “ She hesitates, glancing toward the nearby couple that seem just a little bit too engrossed in one another to listen in on their conversation. “You know I’ll love you, whether you’re on that quasi-royal shtick of yours or not.”

Kaoru chuckles again, quieter, with a soft shake of her head. When she next raises her head, her smile is more subdued, a gentle quirk of the corners of her lips that just… feels more genuine to Misaki, if maybe a little awkward. She’s not quite used to dropping the facade, and especially not in the place with so many people around she may make an impression on. Even when it’s only the two of them, it’s been hard to coax the truer side of Kaoru out, so to speak.

Which, in a way, kind of hurt because Misaki immediately took it as Kaoru not being comfortable around Misaki, which she knows well isn’t the answer.

She can see it’s not easy for Kaoru to act so different so suddenly, so makes to divert attention. The grip on her chopsticks is renewed with vigor and she sharply points to the half-eaten tamagoyaki sushi plate, and making a weak effort to try and pick it up.

“You’d better eat the rest of this before I eat it and force you to pick from the fish.”

A bluff of course; Misaki would never be so cruel, but Kaoru’s smile grows brighter at it, and she chuckles lowly, diverting away Misaki’s chopsticks with her own. It starts a playful thing, Misaki gradually escalating into actually trying to take Kaoru’s tamagoyaki if only to be victorious, while Kaoru is adamant about wanting to be the one to eat it. It goes on for a couple seconds, surely drawing the attention of anyone nearby for a few seconds before Kaoru, quickly reaches with her free hand taking Misaki’s fingers in hand a raising them to her lips to press a quick kiss. That in itself is enough to shock Misaki into stillness, at least until she she’s the way Kaoru’s smile morphs into something sly, and she picks up the remaining tamagoyaki, stuffing it into her mouth and humming appreciatively.

With a huff, Misaki rolls her eyes and turns instead to the remaining three tempura rolls, popping one into her mouth. Kaoru’s chuckle is delayed, though it’s much warmer than earlier when she eventually does, leaning over to nudge Misaki’s shoulder with her own.

“You can’t be that mad at me love, it’s one of the few things I’ll eat from here.” There’s a teasing lilt to her tone and Misaki only laughs in response, threatening raising one of her tempura rolls to Kaoru, and delighting in the far from princely squeak it gets out of her as she recoils back toward the wall. Quickly eating that one, she picks up the final one, holding between her chopsticks and menacingly raising it toward Kaoru.

“Hush and finish your soup, you.”

Beside her, Kaoru clears her throat and makes to correct her appearance out of habit, smoothing out the lapels of her coat and raising a hand to her hair. Once all is said and done, Misaki has finished her plate of tempura rolls and begins eyeing the conveyor belt again while Kaoru manages the same alongside sipping the remains of her soup. While Misaki nabs a yellow plate of sake nigiri while Kaoru gets kani nigiri. For a moment Misaki eyes the plate Kaoru grabbed because that crab looks pretty bright, so it’s probably been well cooked. Probably well worth the blue plate that it sits on.

Kaoru seems to notice, and she nudges Misaki to get her attention.

“Do you want one? You can if you want since I’m  
offering this time, Misaki.”

Misaki’s eyes roll again but she’s not about to say no, and perhaps a bit too eagerly reaches for the offered piece of sushi with her chopsticks. Brushing the hair not kept back by pins, eats it and immediately gives a positive nod. It’s very well cooked and she takes a few moments more to savor the taste of crab before swallowing and glancing to Kaoru.

“It’s absolutely terrible, and maybe you should just give the rest to me.” Kaoru laughs brightly in response, but regrettably doesn’t heed her advice and pops the other piece of sushi into her mouth.

Misaki’s sushi goes pretty quickly, what with salmon being pretty high on her list of favorite fish. After Kaoru takes another tamagoyaki plate and Misaki a purple plate of inarizushi, momentarily sending a quiet prayer of thanks up above before starting her plate, the two decide on a white plate of futomaki to share before they leave.

Probably a bad idea for her wallet, but Misaki figured it would be a problem for Tuesday Misaki, when she realizes that the paycheck is far too for both her liking and comfort.

When all is said and done, the plates are stacked up neatly and one of the staff waved over to scan them all through. It’s not a horrible sum given they had under ten plates, though there was the added in twin bowls of miso soup, only around 100 yen a plate, give or take depending on the color. With a thankful bow given in the chefs’ directions, the two quickly take up their helmets and Misaki’s bag from the baskets beneath the seats and head out to the parking lot.

Again, Misaki has to back out first before she lets Kaoru on, and once she’s got her helmet on and she’s settled, Misaki quickly drives off. The road is less busy now that it’s later into the evening, and Misaki can afford to kick it up a notch, drive much faster than she technically should be without worry. Just don’t let Kaoru see the speedometer and it’ll be okay.

“Hey,” The bluetooth is a godsend at times, and while she’s still got eyes on the road, she can feel Kaoru shift against her back before there’s a quiet ‘hm’ into her ear. “What time is it?”

The arm at her shoulder slides down her back, slower than it really needs to be since Misaki needs to be focused on the road and it’s bad because she knows Kaoru isn’t doing it on purpose. It winds into a loose grip around her waist with the arm already there, and she can feel vaguely how Kaoru is rolling back her sleeve to, what she assumes, is a watch. Indeed it is, and Kaoru brings that arm back before she gets a response.

“It’s about nine-fifteen… doesn’t that show of yours start at ten?”

Misaki feels a blush of embarrassment rise up at the mention, and she’s glad the helmet covers it. It’s an anime to be exact, but Kaoru’s right; it starts at ten and she’d kind of like to watch it.

“It does. I was thinking about watching it tonight, since I was able to finish that project.”

“Aha, that works out! How about we watch it together?” 

She can almost hear the smile in her voice and it’s kind of heartwarming that Kaoru is willing to, because she’s pretty sure Kaoru has watched… one single episode of anime in her entire life, and that was because Kokoro made it mandatory so everyone could learn that opening they played for Naruto.

“You don’t have to, I know it’s not really your thing… it’s also supposed to be one of the more character interactions based episodes, not really a lot of action.”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is we’re doing, I’ll be glad to spend some time with you after staying holed up in my room.”

“Aha… well when you put it like that, you know it’d be cruel of me to say no.”

“Wonderful~!”

She slows for the turn, blinker on but a hand extended to the left for good measure before leaning into the turn. She’s kind of excited because hey, the two of them haven’t done something together in awhile with their schedules and Misaki voluntarily spending every waking moment at the campus radio so she can pretend things are fine come payday. Do they still have those packs of popcorn in the pantry? Maybe pop a bag and find some of the soda in the fridge and you could almost call it a date.

A discount date maybe, that is surely not befitting someone like Kaoru but hey! That’s the story of Misaki’s life, and you can’t fault her for trying.

Safely balancing the bike to the side her foot touches the ground, the key is turned, pulled from the ignition and forced into her pocket. Kaoru’s already dismounted, working to take off the helmet. Misaki’s quick to follow, taking hers off with ease and running her gloved hand through her hair to smooth out the wild strands. Kaoru is in… much worse state.

Having longer hair than Misaki, it’s all sorts of fucked up, and the sight of it is enough to make Misaki’s hand quickly go to her lips to stifle the giggle. Kaoru’s red gaze quickly rises to her amidst her mess of bangs, and her eyes are narrowed slightly. That doesn’t really help the case and Misaki continues to giggle as she makes her way over to Kaoru.

Misaki quickly tugs her gloves away, folding them beneath her arm before raising her hands to Kaoru’s hair. She smooths down her bangs first, running a hand through them before moving to the back. She has to lean forward, almost chest to chest with Kaoru, and her hands first find the hair tie, tugging it loose as painlessly as she can. When it’s been secured instead around her wrist, Misaki goes to work running hands through Kaoru’s locks, though with her arms raised the gloves fall to the ground.

“There. Can’t have a prince looking out of sorts with so many kittens around, huh?” 

Kaoru looks… surprisingly embarrassed, a bright blush on her face as she gazes with wide eyes at Misaki. Only for a moment she sees Kaoru’s composure falter, before she stutters out some incomprehensible sound and raises a hand to brush her bangs from her face.

“Aha, you should uh… you should know by now, my dear Misaki… there’s only one kitten that matters of course.”

Despite her voice being shaky, Misaki still scoffs in response, turning away to hide the blush behind dark hair. Her hands return to her sides, bending over to snatch her gloves from the ground before gesturing toward the house.

“Tch…. come on, you’re gonna make me miss my show like that.” It’s little more than a mumble, enough to give Kaoru her confidence back as she strides to the house behind Misaki.

Again, the two splay on the ground as they untie their boots in silence. One after the other, they are placed in the side closet alongside their helmets, bluetooths turned off.

“I’m gonna go get changed. You do the same, yeah?”

Kaoru hums in understanding and both make their way through the living room. Misaki’s door is closed, and she quickly gets to work getting out of biker stuff. Don’t get her wrong, it’s really helpful when she’s driving and sure, it’s got an appealing look that can quickly nab Kaoru’s attention if she doesn’t already have it, but man… wearing for a long period of time can make her kinda stiff. With all it’s padding and safety plates? Kind of makes her need to stand a certain way so it doesn’t dig in beneath the leather.

To say the least, she’s quite happy getting into improvised pajamas ( read: shorts and a tank top ). She takes a moment to stretch her arms above her head with the newfound freedom, groaning softly as he feels several parts of her back and arms pop. Much better.

When she leaves, Kaoru’s door is still shut, so she’s probably still struggling to get out of her stuff. Makes sense, she doesn’t wear it nearly as often as Misaki does and it’s frankly a sign she’s gotten better at it that she didn’t need help getting into it before they left. That gives her some time to get the aforementioned popcorn though. Which, miraculously enough, they have! Toward the upper level of the cabinet though, so she’s got to grumble while attempting to pull it out by the plastic wrap.

Once it’s secured and torn open, she tosses it into the microwave and sets it to pop while she scours the fridge. Distantly she can hear Kaoru’s door open, though she pays little mind and expects she’ll be in the kitchen shortly. As expected, a few moments later she can feel arms circle around her midsection, and she leans back into the hug, exhaling deeply.

“Do you want a drink Kaoru?”

Out the corner of her eye, Misaki can see Kaoru’s hair trailing over her own shoulder, and her head tilts away to give Kaoru some room to rest on her shoulder. Kaoru’s affirmative hum comes, and she can feel the vibrations along the side of her neck, to which she reaches into the fridge and drags back one ramune bottle after the other. They’re both placed on the counter, yet Kaoru’s arms remain unmoving.

“You know you’re gonna need to let go so we can go watch.”

Kaoru’s response is a noncommittal grunt coupled with the lift of her head so she can press a kiss to Misaki’s cheek.

“Ah, but my dear, I must be cruel, only to be kind later, and I shan’t let you free until you pay me the toll I am due.”

It takes a bit of maneuvering in Kaoru’s arms so Misaki’s facing her, back resting against a now closed fridge. A brow is raised knowingly but she’ll endeavor to play along, if only once in this blue moon.

“Oh, and would you pray tell, uh, what shall I pay you? I can’t say I’ve much money to give you.” Her head tilts to the side in mock curiosity. She’s never been good at acting, and though she’s had practice pretending to be Michelle, it’s just a slightly more cheerful version of herself behind the guise of a bear. 

Kaoru brightens at it nonetheless though, and Misaki can at least find solace in the fact that her piss-poor acting still makes Kaoru happy.

“Ah my dear, I wish for no riches of yours, only to entreat of you a single kiss; true loves very own.”

The arms round Misaki’s middle draw her in nearer, and her own, resting limply at her sides raise to Kaoru’s shoulders, winding around her neck as she leans in.

“True loves kiss, sheesh… that’s a lofty thing to ask for, huh?” Her head levels out again, resting her forehead to Kaoru’s own. “But… I guess... I think I can give you that.”

Misaki leans in, pressing her lips softly to Kaoru’s and raising a hand to thread into her hair ( still down she notes; Kaoru hasn’t bothered putting it back into a ponytail ). Misaki a sucker for Kaoru’s hair, it’s so pretty, so long and very well maintained, which makes sense considering Kaoru has to always be at one-hundred-million percent perfect for everybody. It’s so soft, and easy to thread her hands through.

Very easy to get lost in, which is why Kaoru’s tongue is so easily able to slide into Misaki’s mouth and draw a sudden groan when she slides it over Misaki’s. Instinctively, the hand in Kaoru’s hair closes into a fist and Misaki leans into the kiss to better reciprocate.

As if she’s going to give some weak ass true love’s kiss.

Misaki’s breath comes out heavily through her nose already, which isn’t exactly a good sign, but hey, she’s willing to get a bit lightheaded to prove it’s true love’s kiss and not one time fling’s kiss. Kaoru’s making it incredibly hard to focus on making the remainder of her breath last though, with how she’s pointedly keeping her tongue against Misaki’s at any and all given moments. Kaoru’s trying little by little to draw out Misaki’s tongue and she’s successful, embarrassingly eager to keep them together that she’s willing to cross over into Kaoru’s mouth and seek out that friction. Amidst all of this, she can vaguely feel Kaoru’s fingertips trailing down what’s left of her back before reaching her ass and giving it a firm squeeze.

That’s enough for her to let out a weak gasp, expelling what’s left of her breath and making her forcibly back out of the kiss. Her head rests back against the fridge door, and she takes several short breaths to try and rid her head of the pins and needles of lightheadedness.

Kaoru’s gazing at her with a darker gaze, and she’s panting too, though not nearly as bad as Misaki is. The fist in her hair slowly opens, freeing itself from violet tresses and coming to Kaoru’s shoulder to solidly keep her back.

“At… at this rate you’re going to make me miss the show.’ There’s a strong lack of bite to her words, and her breathlessness does little to carry the point, but Kaoru simply smiles and nods, taking a step back and unraveling her arms so Misaki can stand upright again, move to the side and look in the direction of the microwave.

Thank god for the preset timers, otherwise that would have been some really fucking burned popcorn.

Kaoru takes the two bottles as Misaki tears open the popcorn and dumps it into one of the larger bowls they have. With the snacks prepared, they both make for Kaoru’s room, flicking the lights off save for the desk lamp Kaoru keeps on most of the time in case of late night muse sessions, and the light of the tv screen, flashing black and white ants for now, but soon to be the correct channel.

While Misaki’s dragging over one of the bedside tables, Kaoru simply drops the two bottles on the open side of her bed and makes herself comfortably propped up against the headboard. Misaki sets the popcorn on the table and glances to Kaoru, lips thinned into a line. Kaoru returns her gaze evenly, spreading her legs and patting the mattress in between invitingly. Rolling her eyes, Misaki lets out a huff for show, but ultimately climbs her way to the offered spot and leans back against Kaoru’s chest. It isn’t quite a perfect fit, and Misaki has to slouch a bit for Kaoru to be able to rest her head atop Misaki’s head, but it’s whatever. So long as she can still see the screen, it’ll work itself out.

The remote is given to her, and she changes modes until it’s on the television mode proper, idly flicking through the guide for the channel in question.

( Ah! There it is… and not a moment too soon it seems. Naruto seems to be in it’s closing. Maybe wherever Kokoro was in the world right then, she had been watching it? )

She thinks she hears Kaoru clear her throat behind her, as though she’s intending to ask a question or speak up, but Misaki suddenly leans forward. Kaoru still as this, tilting her head in curiosity as Misaki uses the remote to raise the volume several marks higher.

The opening theme begins playing, with a drum slowly rising in volume until a cymbal crash kicks the rest of the song into gear. As it leads into what Kaoru assumes it the chorus, she can just faintly hear Misaki humming along to the tune. And as an added bonus, when the male voice begins singing, she starts quietly singing along. A good deal of this intro seems to be around some kid in a… is that a school uniform of some kind? A lot of fairly well clothes people as well, perhaps military or royals? And mechs too? Color Kaoru surprised, she didn’t think that sort of thing was among Misaki’s interests.

As Misaki had warned, the episode was… rather slow moving, mainly around various conversations between the one she assumed was the protagonist from the intro and some kind of major secondary character? They wore the same uniform so school friends then?

Misaki has leaned back into her by now and her eyes are trained on the screen. Against her better judgement Kaoru nudges her gently with the bottom of the bottle she cracked open.

“I hate to bother you my love, but I have to ask: what is this anime about? I can only guess so much from that intro you liked so much…”

Misaki is, as she expected, still silent for a couple moments, and Kaoru thinks she’s just elected to ignore the question until the screen changes from the protagonist (?) and it goes into a set of commercials.

“Okay so basically, that guy you saw in the opening? The purple haired one?” Kaoru gives an affirmative hum. “That guy is the protagonist, and you could say he’s like… an estranged prince in a sense.”

Kaoru’s eyes light up at this and she chuckles. Misaki lolls her head back against Kaoru’s chest, narrowing her eyes up at her.

“A purple haired prince? Why, I love him already. Please do tell me he’s your favorite?”

Misaki lets out a scoff and quickly looks ahead again to the screen, arms crossed. Kaoru simply presses a kiss to her neck, catching the sight of her ears flushing a red in between layers of black hair.

“Can I continue?”

“Please do, dear.”

“Well, basically he and the brown haired guy, the one who was piloting that mech in the intro? They’re really good friends. The purple haired one is the son of the guy who conquered their country, so he makes a promise to the brown haired one saying he was going to defy his father and get their country’s freedom. The entire series is basically him starting a rebellion, hence, y’know, the name.”

“I see… ah look, it’s beginning again.”

Misaki quickly focuses on the screen again, and with renewed understanding, Kaoru sets off to get a basic understanding about what’s going on. Her arms lazily wrap around Misaki’s waist again, and she willingly leans further into Kaoru’s embrace, resting her own hands over Kaoru’s. The rest of the anime episode passes in relative quiet, a particularly active scene capturing their complete attention and leaving drinks and popcorn forgotten on the table.

Before she knows it, the next commercial break has come, and Kaoru will admit, she’s pretty invested in the show. It’s got an interesting political aspect to it, if only from this episode alone that Kaoru can kind of relate to from a couple plays she been in, and the many things she’s had to read about for her major. Definitely something she could potentially keep watching, if only to spend even more time than she already does around Misaki.

A glance down to her companion in question warrants a soft gaze, and a goofy smile to her lips. She brushes away the dark hair covering her neck and leans in to plant a kiss to the side of it, just beneath her hair.

“Mm….. what are you up to back there?”

Misaki’s hand raises up, finds a place in Kaoru’s hair now that it’s in relative reach, gently running her hands along all of it that she can reach. Ah, if she tilts just like this, keeps her lips against Misaki’s neck… oh dear, there’s a firm blush on Kaoru’s cheeks now. Misaki’s wearing a pretty loose tank top, isn’t she..?

Loose enough that when she tilts back to glance at Kaoru she can see pretty easily down to her chest, and her heartbeat picks up fairly quickly. Her grip tightens as well, and Misaki can tell pretty quickly what’s up, as her cheeks break out in a furious blush as well, and she clears her throat obnoxiously loud, raising one of her hands press the shirt flat against her chest. This though leaves one of Kaoru’s hands free and hesitantly, she lowers it to the hem of Misaki’s top, tugging at it in… warning? Something, before sliding her hand underneath it.

Misaki’s reaction is instant, and not entirely negative to Kaoru’s delight. The hand still over her own stiffens considerably, but her stomach flexes beneath Kaoru’s touch, which in itself is another delight, because Misaki working out as much as she does is very well toned. Long nails trail around the flat of her stomach, occasionally dipping lower, that the blunts leave a pleasant tingle on Misaki’s skin that she’s in no hurry to force away.

Misaki’s shirt rides up on Kaoru’s arm as her hand raises higher, fingertips brushing above her ribs before hesitating and driving back down toward her stomach. The press is more insistent though, blunt nails scraping in red lines on her skin and making Misaki force out a breath through her teeth.

“Kaoru…” Her voice is breathless, and her chest raises with each breath as she tries getting a hold of her heart. It’s not like they haven’t done this before, she really shouldn’t be reacting like this every time Kaoru gets frisky, or vice versa on the rare occasions.

It’s invitation enough, Kaoru desperately wants to hear her name again. It’s pretty well known between the two of them how much Kaoru adores Misaki, and it goes almost doubly so during… more intimate settings. Her reactions, her voice, Kaoru adored it all, and often vocalized it during their time together, much to Misaki’s embarrassment. Misaki’s hands shake, the one on Kaoru’s hand loosening and shifting away to allow Kaoru to move it as well, and so she does, immediately sliding it underneath Misaki’s shirt to join the other. The one in Kaoru’s hair has turned into a fist, tugging at her hair unintentionally and urging Kaoru on. One hand remains at her stomach, fingers tracing idly into her lean muscle as the other rises to her chest. Still fingertips at first, running along the curves of her chest.

For a second, Misaki can register the feeling of the pads of Kaoru’s fingers running over her nipple and she suddenly heaves a breath, dying out into a whine. It’s kind of weird, because it’s not the first time they’ve done this either, but her finger feels… different? Rougher, almost as though she has a calluses she hadn’t noticed against her skin early. Focusing for a second on the hand at her stomach, she can barely confirm for herself than while it’s only one of two fingers on Kaoru’s right hand, the left hand fingers are all calloused. Her brows knit together in curiosity, though another brush to the same place garners another reaction from her that derails her thoughts.

She can’t think of much reason for it, thoughts kind of blending together as she drives her teeth into her lower lip and tries flicking a shaky gaze around the room. For a moment she gets a clear sight of white and gold in the corner of the room, not as neatly kept on the rack as it usually is.

“Ah!” Said aloud as Kaoru parts her lips against the side of Misaki’s neck in pleasant surprise as she begins sucking a mark to her skin, and thought sharply in her head in revelation.

Ah, indeed. She was playing guitar regularly again? Kaoru had stopped for awhile after Hello Happy announced it’s hiatus, playing it occasionally, but never for a good deal of time. If she was getting roughed up fingertips, it meant she was playing seriously enough that the strings were taking a toll on her fingers. It’s a curious thing, but she can’t really focus on it when Kaoru removes her lips with an audibly pop and takes one of her breasts in hand, gently kneading it with her palm while the other hand begins to rise from her stomach to follow. Misaki’s lips part in a breathy gasp, and her head tilts back slightly against Kaoru’s shoulder, half lidded eyes glancing to the side. She can make out Kaoru’s mess of violet hair spilling over her shoulder, some of it dipping down beneath the collar of her shirt and tickling at her collarbone and chest, and one of her sharp red eyes peering at her. She swallows down thickly and takes a harsh breath in, the hand in Kaoru’s hair untangling itself and sliding down until she press her palm against Kaoru’s cheek, drawing her in. It’s at an awkward angle, but Misaki endeavors to crane her neck back despite the ache in her neck and press a sloppy kiss to Kaoru’s lips.

Kaoru’s hands falter for a moment as she tries returning it just as sloppily, but they quickly return to the task at hand with renewed vigor. One nipple is taken between an index and middle finger, and the touch is enough to drive another quiet groan from her lips.

It emboldens Kaoru, pulling back from the messy kiss and glancing down toward Misaki’s bare stomach, a hand prematurely slides away from Misaki’s chest. Misaki doesn’t quite understand it, and she whines again at the lack of touch, breath heaving her chest into the remaining hand Kaoru has on her.

“Can I?” Kaoru’s voice is low, just as breathy as her own against her ear, and breath hot against the mark she made on her neck earlier. The rough feeling of her calluses are again along her stomach, trailing lower in a way that makes her brow furrow in confusion, then rise with clarity as Kaoru pauses at her waistband. Shakily she nods, though she knows that isn’t a good enough answer for Kaoru, who still after all these years, needs explicit permission from Misaki regarding these things. It’s a heartwarming thought she might take more comfort in if she wasn’t… really wanting her to get along with it.

This isn’t something they’ve done, it’s completely new and Misaki’s pretty certain Kaoru doesn’t know what she’s doing very clearly.

“Mhmmm, please… go on.”

Kaoru gives an affirmative hum and dips her hand beneath the shorts she wears. Maybe she hadn’t quite been expecting boxers, if the fact that she pauses for a second, but it doesn’t seem to faze her anymore, instead going along with it at first. Rather than slide beneath her undergarments as well, she slowly slides her fingers against the fabric with a firm press on her index and middle fingers. The hand on her breast has all been forgotten in favor of this new thing Kaoru’s doing, and her breath hitches when she trails her fingers in-between her legs. Punctuating the touch with a sudden press of her fingers, Misaki lets out a yelp that’s equal parts surprise and pleasure because wow, that was a very different, much stronger feeling than the feeling of Kaoru’s hands and nails against her chest.

One that Kaoru seems to delight in, as she does so again, and Misaki’s body jolts once again, legs tensing and squeezing in around Kaoru’s hand. Unintentionally, Misaki’s hips buck forward against the touch, and drag down against Kaoru’s pelvis as she returns to her previous place. That gets a reaction out of Kaoru, maybe the strongest of the night, a dull moan almost directly against Misaki’s ear with how close she is.

It sends shivers down Misaki’s spine, and she experimentally does so against, reveling in both the vocal reaction she gets again, as well as the momentary press between her legs that Kaoru also reacts with.

“M-Misaki…” Misaki’s head tilts to the side, glancing to the side of Kaoru’s face. Red eyes are trained on where her hand disappearing into Misaki’s shorts, briefly glancing to Misaki’s face and offering a weak smile before her hand slips back up towards her waistline. It surfaces for a moment, and Misaki can just barely make out the pad of her fingers slick with… gods that’s embarrassing, and her head sharply turns away to hide the furious blush she can feel on her cheeks.

The reaction is endearing to Kaoru, and she chuckles brightly, nuzzling against Misaki’s neck as she slides her fingers beneath Misaki’s boxers this time. Her breathing has picked up significantly, short, quick breaths that bely just how nervous she is. Not that she doesn’t want it because yeah, she kind of really does, but she’s just… not sure what she’s supposed to do while Kaoru’s doing all this.

Kaoru, ever observant catches on relatively quickly, and she leans her chest against Misaki, pressing intently against her, squeezing a little harder against her breast to distract her.

“I’m here Misaki, my love. I… I know I’m not going to be the best… I don’t know exactly what I need to do… but you trust me, right? I know I trust you to tell me.”

Misaki takes a second, breathes in as she tries to focus on the warmth against her back, the pleasant murmur of Kaoru’s voice against her ear and she shakily nods her head.

“More than anyone, Kaoru. Just… I’m sorry if I say or do anything wrong.”

“Nonsense. If you want me to stop, say so and I will… conversely uh… if I can’t you know…”

Misaki nods again, weakly raising a hand to Kaoru’s face, running the backs of her fingers against her cheek. “I know… uh, go ahead… or whatever I guess.”

Kaoru nods softly and continues with her left hand again, moving her hands even slower than she had been earlier so Misaki can get used to the feeling. Admittedly, the calluses make it a bit more sensitive, with their rougher feeling compared to the rest and Misaki’s breath hitches when she can feel Kaoru’s fingers running over her, no doubt getting even slicker than they had when she’d been touching her through her boxers. That’s all but confirmed when she can hear a rumble in Kaoru’s throat, something like a choked back groan and her fingers slide with a bit more pressure behind them.

One of her fingers dips down, unintentionally, with a bit more force than the others and Misaki’s eyes widen in surprise. One of her hands balls into a fist again, and sheesh, it’s really nothing compared to some of the stuff she’s totally-not-read about, but feeling it for the first time is kind of… weird?

To Kaoru’s credit, she’s moving slowly, and after that reaction, she’s also moving far more gently. That’s something she’s noticed about Kaoru… her movements are always so gentle when they’re intimate like this. When they kissed earlier, it wasn’t a forceful thing, and she didn’t dominate the kiss, instead choosing to try and draw Misaki into a mutual exchange sort of thing almost? And when she initiated the whole thing, her hands were slow moving, almost feather like for a brief moment before she upped it. Even leaving the mark on her neck, she didn’t bite, even graze her teeth. On one hand it made her heart flutter, though on the other hand… was it kinda’ wrong that she wanted that sort of thing? Maybe it was a personal preference… one that Kaoru wasn’t into? Oh well, there are more pressing things to attend to.

Digging her teeth into her lip, she moans softly. Yeah, definitely more pressing. Her thoughts are a multi freight wreck at this point, but she can sort of tell Kaoru’s trying to do the same thing, prodding into her with curiosity in a way that’s equally as weird feeling as it was earlier, but also with an underlying pleasure to it, one that makes her toes begin to curl. It’s not very prevalent, but it’s there.

“K-Kaoru… come on…”

It’s not that she’s intentionally teasing, Misaki knows. She can feel the way Kaoru is almost shaking, occasionally faltering in the way she forces her hand to remain confident as she slides ( …is that her index finger? ) into her.

“You, ah, you know I trust you, yeah? Y-you’re doing great.”

Kaoru’s head nods slowly, though she chewing nervously on her own lip as she moves her finger. Experimentally, she tries running her middle finger against her as well, gathering a bit of her slick up against her fingertip as well before trying to slide it in beside her index. She gets a reaction almost immediately, though not quite the one she expected.

Misaki’s free hand shoots towards Kaoru’s wrist, gripping it and tugging wildly.

“Uh--- uh-uh” Her head shakes just as wildly. “N-not… j-just one, please!”

Kaoru recoils her hand back so suddenly that Misaki moans aloud at the sudden friction, but still has a tight grip on Kaoru’s wrist.

“I-I’m sorry, Misaki I-”

“N-no, not you… I’m just… not used to it, please just… uh, just one for now…”

“Aha…. of course, anything… you still trust me?”

“Trust you… and you alone.”

Misaki mumbles softly, turning her head away from the sight and burying it as best she can against Kaoru’s shoulder.

Taking the earlier motion into account, albeit making damn sure that only one finger is anywhere near Misaki, she slides it in again. It’s a less shaky motion this time, and a fraction quicker to entice that sound out of Misaki again. She’s little over halfway to her knuckle when Misaki’s hand tightens around her wrist again, and she lets out a groan.

“K-Kaoru… it’s kinda… weird? Feels weird…”

Misaki’s gaze flits for a second down toward where Kaoru’s hand is buried beneath her boxers and shudders at the sight. Very weird, probably not something she’ll get easily used to. It’ll take at least a few run throughs… which only brightens her blush because that undoubtedly means they’ll be doing this sometime again in the future, multiple times even. In spite of the anxiety, there’s a certain excitement to be felt in that she and Kaoru mutually trust one another to try this. Well, of course she trusts Kaoru enough for this. She may not look it or act it, but she’s very focused, and well honed in on specifically anything Misaki at this point. And she picks up quickly, if her learning over the course of this… exchange was anything to go off of.

Her earlier comment wasn’t quite a warning or a request to stop, and Kaoru understood that. Rather than back off entirely, she instead makes to slowly slide her finger away until she can justifying redoing the motion and slowly inching her way deeper based on Misaki’s comfort. Her legs clench around Kaoru’s hand again, and lets out a higher pitched whine from her throat as Kaoru continues her motions. Her hips are wiggling, which surely can’t be doing much for Kaoru, but seems to be doing something right, if the way her breaths are getting heavier is any cue.

As Kaoru’s getting closer toward the two-third mark, Misaki’s grip tightens once again, though rather than let her pull away, Misaki keeps Kaoru’s hand in place.

“P-please Kaoru, just-- just a bit more.”

At first she thinks Misaki’s talking about what she has left, and she mutters out a sound of agreement, though she quickly learned that isn’t the case when she Misaki so suddenly seize up around her finger, and the hand around her wrist tightens much stronger, blunt nails driving crescents into her skin.

Her voice is higher, and her moan is choked out with a mix of sobs that makes Kaoru hand stiffen in fear. She tries withdrawing her hand in the fear, and she finds it brings with it no small amount translucent liquid that makes her blush furiously in realization. As Kaoru’s busy trying to catch up, Misaki winds down from her high, hand weakly releasing Kaoru’s wrist and roughly pulling itself from her own shorts. She leans back heavily against Kaoru’s chest shoulders rising with each breath as she struggles to fight the emotional ( and physical to an extent ) drain she’s gone through.

Now that she isn’t riding out a high on Kaoru’s finger, she can acutely tell just how tired she is. Her throat kind of hurts from all the sounds she’s made, and it’s hoarse as she tries to speak up.

“Ah… Kaoru… did you..?”

Kaoru remains dumbfounded for a moment, sliding her own hand out Misaki’s shorts, and eyeing the trail of slick liquid it makes. She blinks as her thoughts finally catch up to present, and she glances to the side at Misaki. She can tell just how exhausted she is by looking at her and to be frank, Kaoru isn’t much better off, even having not… uh, well, gone through what Misaki went through.

“Ah… haha…” Her laugh is weak, still low voiced though it’s got its fair share of fatigue in it as well. “N-no… but you really needn’t worry… we, I think we both need some rest after uh… after all that, yes?”

Misaki purses her lips, but ultimately sighs in resignation, nodding. It’s a bit weird… no scratch that, very weird trying to maneuver around with the literal mess in her boxers, but she rolls herself over so she’s on her stomach, and weakly tugs at Kaoru to come lower.

She obliges after a few moments, lip quivering at the movement between her legs as Misaki makes herself comfortable, and then promptly raises herself so Kaoru can slide down to the mattress proper. Much more comfortable than the headboard.

Misaki drops down with little grace onto Kaoru, burying her head into Kaoru’s neck and huffing out another breath against her collarbone.

“...gotta pay you back… ‘n all.”

Kaoru still finds it in her to chuckle at the statement, and she raised her… non-messy hand to run through Misaki’s hair.

“Yeah… we can uh... deal with that later though. Perhaps now we should get some rest… that was a little harder than I think we both thought.”

Misaki’s already almost half asleep, and Kaoru’s not far behind, as she weakly nods her head.

“Mmm… love you, Kaoru.”

“Ah, and I you Misaki. Rest well.”

She bends her head down, an awkward angle but she’ll live, and presses a kiss into Misaki’s hair.

“You too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can any of yall guess what anime they watched on their discount date? I kinda,,, made it obvious but ye!
> 
> Come shout @ me on twitter @harahanzo bc holy mcfuck this chapter turned out to be,,,, much longer than expected

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come shout at me on twitter @HaraHanzo bc I would actually die for these two.


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